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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29203548">deadlier than despair</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/zimtlein/pseuds/zimtlein'>zimtlein</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Character Study, Crack Treated Seriously, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Dark Crack, Episode: s02 Doudou Vilain | Despair Bear, Gen, Internal Conflict, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Parody</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:20:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,822</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29203548</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/zimtlein/pseuds/zimtlein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Despair Bear, announcing himself as the new hotel manager, forces six students into a killing game.</p><p>One of them dies.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. daily life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is absolutely not my fault. It wasn't my idea. A friend told me to do it. (Yep this is your fault you know who you are)</p><p>But I had to write it because honestly, why did they name him Despair Bear? Why?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s laughter coming from somewhere. Very, very weird laughter.</p><p>“Upupu!”</p><p>Huh.</p><p>The music stops. Marinette turns her head. Almost everyone does. Usually, teddy bears aren’t supposed to walk on two feet, she’s pretty sure. So that is kind of unsettling.</p><p>“It’s moving?” Adrien whispers next to her.</p><p>“Seems so,” she whispers back.</p><p>Oh, yeah, and there’s an obvious explanation, she guesses. Akuma. So, the obvious solution –</p><p>“Welcome, nice to meet you all! My name is …” With an unmoving face, the teddy bear spreads its arms. “Despair Bear!”</p><p>And then, something explodes.</p><p>Marinette’s instincts scream for her to duck. The bang is so loud that a buzzing sound hisses through her ears, settling in a ringing noise. For seconds, she becomes unable to hear anything, but she can see people running away in panic.</p><p>She calms her nerves. Only an akuma. Nothing to worry about. Less and less people around her, and she looks for the source of the explosion. Dust slowly settles, still obscuring her view. Turning her head, she sees Adrien looking at her in concern, and as the ringing noise lessens, she is just about to grab his hand and bring him to safety.</p><p>When another loud bang makes her suppress a scream.</p><p>Marinette coughs. She can hardly see anything through the cloud of dirt. There is something moving within lingering dust, though, and it doesn’t take her long to realize what it is.</p><p>“What do we have here?” the shrill voice of the teddy bear reaches her. “I’ll have to count. A hotel manager can never lose track of their dear guests, now can they? Just bear with me for a moment. Ha, bear with me, you get it?”</p><p>A cough, then another high-pitched voice. “Hotel manager? Who do you think you are? This is my daddy’s hotel, not yours!”</p><p>“Eh, I don’t take such a narrow view on that.” The bear jumps from wall to wall until it arrives next to Chloé. Then it stretches out its little paw, tipping against Chloé’s nose. With a scream, she backs away, almost stumbling over her feet. “There! You get the honor to be number one, Chloé! Aren’t I a nice bear? Why, I’d say I even deserve a treat! And a lot of respect, seeing as I will be your go-to bear for the unforeseeable future!”</p><p>That doesn’t make much sense. It’s gotten oddly dark in here, and when Marinette looks around, she spots the reason. The windows are covered by metal plates. She somehow wants to laugh. Chloé’s party was filled with people, and after the explosion, she can only discover a few figures standing around. Through the darkness, she can’t recognize them right away.</p><p>So most civilians managed to escape. Which is good. Less work for her.</p><p>She is just about to make a run for it, using all the confusion to her advantage, when something soft suddenly hits her cheek. With a little squeak, she backs away. Shimmering green eyes latch onto hers.</p><p>“And – two!” With the agility of a trained living being, Despair Bear jumps and lands on Adrien’s shoulder, tapping his forehead. “Three!”</p><p>This is just getting weirder and weirder. When she wants to leave them be this time, she is stopped by a hand on her arm. Adrien, looking at her soberly before turning back to the teddy bear. “This seems familiar, doesn’t it?”</p><p>“Not … not really,” she responds.</p><p>“Four … Five … Six! Aw, now that is disappointing. I hoped for more than that. Huh, it’s almost – it’s almost despair-inducing!”</p><p>Weird laughter. Again.</p><p>This is just getting ridiculous. She finally manages to free her arm, ignoring Adrien’s concerned look. Resolving this situation first, freaking out over Adrien later. “Let’s just get out of here,” she tells him over her shoulder. “There must be an exit.”</p><p>“There isn’t,” Despair Bear returns.</p><p>Marinette pays him no attention. She stomps towards the doors leading to the elevators.</p><p>“Missy, if I were you, I’d want to stay here. Don’t wanna miss a beautifully despairing live feed, now do you?”</p><p>His laughter is starting to get on her nerves. She grits her teeth and turns back to him. “Live feed,” she repeats.</p><p>“Yes, live feed. What, you need a dictionary, missy? Then again, not looking like the brightest bulb in the box. Live. Feed. You know, seeing what exactly is going on right now, only somewhere else? I know, I know, mind blown. You get it, or you need an even simpler explanation?”</p><p>She swallows down an answer. It wouldn’t have helped.</p><p>Just when her eyes are getting used to the darkness, the lights flicker on again, one after the other. A quick look tells her that Despair Bear didn’t lie – six students. All of them her classmates. Chloé and Sabrina, Alya and Nino, Adrien and herself. The hall is empty expect for them, and in the middle of it all, Despair Bear’s face stays motionless, his voice the only hint at his enthusiasm.</p><p>“There you go, just as promised,” he announces, pointing to one of the screens above the bar. It flickers on in an instant. “Hope all your hopes get quashed like fat ugly frogs!”</p><p>A view from outside the hotel. People trying to get in from the front entrance, but just like the windows on this floor, metal plates hinder them from doing so. Marinette watches, unmoving. But that doesn’t matter. All she needs is a secluded place to transform, and the day is saved. Easy as that.</p><p>“Wait,” another voice joins the conversation. Sabrina. “Are we actually – are we trapped?”</p><p>“So glad you asked, Sabrina!” Despair Bear’s green eyes are glowing, and behind them, the live feed keeps playing. Policemen trying to shatter the door without much success. “As a matter of fact, yes, you are! But don’t worry, my dear guests – you’ll have a chance to get out of here.”</p><p>Marinette can feel the sudden dread rising on her skin. There’s something too menacing about his tone. The live feed cuts off without warning.</p><p>“What kind of crap is this?” Chloé shrieks. “I order you to let us out! Now!”</p><p>“Well, no way Ladybug and Chat Noir won’t be able to break through those barriers,” Alya points out. “We’ll just have to wait for them to get here.”</p><p>Marinette thinks so too. If she could just escape watchful eyes for one second, that is. Despair Bear’s wild laughter makes her wince, though.</p><p>“Ah, yes! Yes, yes, they are more than welcome to join. I will make an exception just for them! What fun would a killing game be if its mastermind couldn’t bend the rules to their will?” He laughs again. “Just joking, no worries. A game with unsteady rules is no fun, after all!”</p><p>Seconds of silence. Marinette must have misheard. She doesn’t want to repeat it.</p><p>Nino does so for her. “Killing game?” he says, the slightest hint of worry to his voice.</p><p>“Oh, oh. Have I already given away the most exciting bits? Ah, silly me, silly me.” Despair Bear sighs heavily, little shoulders slumping. “Aw, now I’ve ruined all the fun.”</p><p>“What?” Marinette breathes.</p><p>“Wait,” Adrien speaks up. “This is just like –”</p><p>“No, no, this is original, okay? An original concept!” Despair Bear jumps up and down on the counter, pointing a paw at Adrien. “I won’t tolerate silly accusations like these!”</p><p>Adrien raises both his hands. “I didn’t even say anything.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure you didn’t.” Despair Bear’s paw flies to the other students. “You heard right! There is a way to get out of here, and that is – wait for it – being the winner of this wonderful killing game!”</p><p>“You sure are killing my nerves,” Chloé shoots back. She grabs a bowl from the counter, aiming it at the teddy bear. “Shoo, or I’ll personally kick you out of here!”</p><p>“A killing game,” snorts Alya. “Right. What a killer joke.”</p><p>“Woah, dudes, wait, isn’t that totally a rip-off of –”</p><p>“It isn’t!” Despair Bear interrupts Nino.</p><p>Amidst the chaos, Marinette uses the chance. Approaching the door to the dining hall quietly. Further and further, until –</p><p>“There are certain rules to make this game enjoyable, and the first one of them: listen to the hotel manager or get punished!”</p><p>And despite the voice coming from behind her, a sudden teddy bear leaps from the ceiling, landing directly before her. Screaming, Marinette jumps back. The teddy bear keeps glowering at her. Menacingly.</p><p>“Also, any violence towards the hotel manager is strictly prohibited, blondie!”</p><p>“Or what?” Chloé returns.</p><p>“Or, well, I’ll have to do away with you. In the spirit of a harmonious game of killing, that is!”</p><p>Alya gives a laugh. “Right! A supervillain killing civilians. Never happened before, never going to happen. Get out with your empty threats.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Adrien chimes in. When Marinette risks a glance at him, she discovers how pale he became. “Seems like … Let me guess. Rule number three, whoever kills someone and gets away with it may leave the hotel?”</p><p>A long moment of silence. “You’re starting to get on my nerves, kid.”</p><p>“Rule number four –”</p><p>“Shut up! Yes, yes, if the blackened manages not to be found out, the rest of you sorry babyfaces gets killed off! But if you guess correctly, only the poor culprit gets to push up some daisies.” Despair Bear keeps jumping on the spot. “Guess who’s the first blackened here? Adrien Agreste, mercilessly killing my vibe like that!”</p><p>“What?” Marinette can’t help but laugh, the words too strange to reach her in any way. “We are supposed to – you want us to kill someone?”</p><p>“Well, <em>us </em>is fine! All of you killing each other, what a wonderful image. Mayhem, chaos, despair – yep, wouldn’t complain.” Despair Bear seems to shiver, and that’s just a whole new level of creepy. “One of you killing would suffice, though. Or not! Depends on whether you find out who it was. Make an effort, kids!”</p><p>This is just – ridiculous. So ridiculous it isn’t even funny anymore. “Screw that,” Marinette therefore professes, again striding towards the dining hall. Despair Bear’s little copy is still standing in front of it, but she doesn’t really care. Hawk Moth killing people? Right. As if.</p><p>“Marinette!” she hears Adrien’s voice. “Don’t!”</p><p>“Aw, but why not? She could be the perfect example of what happens with disobedient, annoying guests! Prepare for punishment, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”</p><p>Whatever. She is not going to be told by a teddy bear to kill someone. And the angrier her stomps become, the further the second teddy backs away until it jumps back towards the wall, climbing up with seemingly no trouble at all. Like she thought, coward. Empty words. Steps behind her, but she pays them no mind either, and –</p><p>Her world suddenly becomes a blur. The impact leaves pain, and she hisses when her back hits the floor. Some sounds, some gasps, and it takes her way too long to see Adrien’s face hovering over hers. Her first reaction is a wild jump of her heart.</p><p>Her second one is dictated by Sabrina’s scream. “A – there’s a – there’s, it – it threw –”</p><p>Her stammering makes sense when Marinette looks at the spot she stood on just a second ago. There’s a knife. A glistering, long butcher knife, its tip stuck in the floor. She stares at it for so long her eyes start to water, and not even Adrien’s arm wrapping around her shoulder and pulling her closer can make it better.</p><p>This has to be a profound, elaborate joke.</p><p>“Excuse me, Sabrina! Pronouns, please. I’m not an ‘it’. I’m a very healthy, very real boy!”</p><p>“S-sorry, sorry, I’m –” Sabrina chokes, then whimpers.</p><p>“To make myself very clear, children. I’m perfectly serious!” Despair Bear’s voice is loud enough to ring in Marinette’s ears. “The only way to get out of here is to murder someone without getting caught. Yes, and before any questions are asked – kill them! Annihilate them! Slay them! Anything is allowed, whatever tickles your disgusting fancy, dear guests. Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting – the choice is yours!”</p><p>Marinette keeps staring at that knife. The thought won’t leave her be. The blade piercing her chest, or parting her forehead, or getting stuck right in her skull instead, or – she feels like throwing up.</p><p>“You should see your faces! Ah, young lives, crushed like that – it’s so entirely gruesome! So cruel! Despairing like that, oh, it’s so goddamn exciting!”</p><p>She faintly registers Adrien’s hold on her shoulder tightening, but she somehow can’t move herself to do anything.</p><p>“I already see the light bulbs coming on! Setting up the first few plans, aren’t you? How beautiful – betrayed by classmates, by friends, by those you should have trusted most! Just how entirely horrible will it be to realize –”</p><p>“Aren’t ya getting tired of yourself, dude?”</p><p>Marinette looks up. Shocked faces. Still, entirely unconvinced faces. It’s the one thing that manages to keep her breathing, to focus on the here and now.</p><p>“We saw that people outside know we’re in here.” Nino shrugs. “Why should we kill anyone? Sorry, really, but that’s kinda dumb, isn’t it?”</p><p>Despair Bear stays silent, looking at him with glowing green eyes.</p><p>“R-right!” Chloé stomps, bowl still in her hands. As if she needs at least one weapon to feel safe. “Daddy will hire professionals! No way we’re stuck here like some helpless losers.”</p><p>“I – yeah. Yeah! And Ladybug and Chat Noir –” Alya fingers hold on to her own fist, and it’s just too clear to Marinette that she is shaking slightly despite the strong tone she uses. “They’re gonna be here soon, too. Honestly? Your plan really isn’t the smartest one.”</p><p>Nino shrugs. “So, dude, maybe it’d be best –”</p><p>A laugh. Different from the almost soft, but annoying laughs from before. Loud, echoing, hurting in Marinette’s ears. Without her noticing, she presses closer against the warm body next to her, trying to make herself as small as possible.</p><p>“Oh, all that beautiful, disgusting, rainbow-shitting hope!” Despair Bear shouts through the whole room. “So cute! So adorable! Makes me want to stomp it off your pretty faces, one by one! Superb, glorious, delightful, et cetera!” He shuts up again, unmoving face and unmoving body. “They won’t.”</p><p>Alya glowers. “Yes, they will.”</p><p>“They won’t. Those metal plates are enhanced with magic. They’d have to destroy the whole building to get you out, and, well, kill you in the process. Really, would be just as exciting! But their pea brains won’t allow for that.”</p><p>“But Ladybug and Chat Noir –” Chloé begins.</p><p>“Will be the exception, like I said! I’ll gladly let them join in on the game as soon as they arrive. The ultimate symbols of your hope crushed like that! Just imagine!”</p><p>“Isn’t this going too far, Hawk Moth?” Adrien’s voice seems steady, the only anchor left. “Having teenagers murder each other – are you really willing to do this?”</p><p>“Hey, buddy, if I didn’t make myself clear – I’m Despair Bear, not Hawk Moth!”</p><p>“You are,” Adrien returns. “But as always, Hawk Moth is pulling the strings, isn’t he?”</p><p>Despair Bear laughs. And laughs. And laughs. “Pulling the strings? <em>I </em>am pulling the strings, kid! I am the mastermind here! I am the one you’ll have to face! That scrawny Hawk Moth? He underestimated what it’s like to give someone the power to finally pull all. The. Strings.” Another laugh, deep and menacing. “Have at it! Stay here in this hotel, forever trapped – there’s enough food for months, enough rooms to sleep in, enough, heh, diversity to not keep you bored for too long! Or do the smart thing and murder one of your fellow hotel guests. Choice is yours!”</p><p>Another laugh, and Despair Bear jumps away, a blur of movements until he’s gone for good.</p><p>Marinette tries to wake up from this nightmare. She can’t.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a blatant copy of Monokuma.”</p><p>Adrien’s words are so confident that everyone latches onto them immediately. Even Nino lets out a relieved breath. “Dude. You’re so right. Think he saw the anime too?”</p><p>“I bet he only watched the anime. Didn’t even take the time to play the games. Especially the second one – a masterpiece!” Adrien’s eyes start glowing. “I mean, the moment Nagito turns out to be crazy? I still have goosebumps.”</p><p>“Oh, oh,” Nino joins in. “Dude, first one was still, like, incredible! That twist with the twin chick? Like, holy shit! I was like, oh no, you didn’t!”</p><p>“Your face was hilarious! Or when Kirigiri was about to be killed …”</p><p>“Dude, you were almost crying, and it was your second time playing that game.”</p><p>Adrien’s cheeks turn pink. “Because – because Kirigiri is a well-written character, that’s all. She’s so cool, and she always keeps a level head, and –”</p><p>“We get it, you have a crush on an anime girl,” Alya interrupts, eyes scanning her surroundings. After taking a quick look at the main hall, they’ve all huddled together next to the dining hall, staying close by like this giving them at least some sense of security. “Now, what do we do about the situation at hand?”</p><p>Marinette bites the inside of her cheek. That’s a really good question. “Well, if Despair Bear’s inspiration really was a video game, he’s kind of predictable. What will his next moves be?”</p><p>Adrien’s eyes dart over everyone. Then he shrugs, lighthearted expression hiding what he really must be feeling. “He will wait for someone to kill someone. And if that doesn’t happen, he’ll give us motives. To make murdering someone more attractive.”</p><p>“But,” Nino says, “didn’t the characters have some kinda memory loss? We don’t, right?”</p><p>“Oh my god, this is so exhausting!” Chloé hides her face behind her hands. “I can’t even distract myself with Instagram. I have to listen to you losers instead. We’re totally cut off from the outside world! No reception, no nothing! How am I supposed to survive for so long? Just get me out of here!”</p><p>“Shut up, Bourgeois. I need to remember if I forgot something,” snaps Alya.</p><p>Clearing her throat, Sabrina keeps staring at the floor. “That’s – in and of itself, isn’t that kind of …”</p><p>“Impossible?” Marinette finishes her sentence. “How would we know if we forgot anything?”</p><p>“Is there any gap in your memories?” Adrien asks.</p><p>An awkward exchange of glances. Some shake their heads, some shrug. Marinette remembers coming to the hotel for Chloé’s party, and she remembers everything before that, and everything else about this day in particular, but still. Really, how would they know?</p><p>“Anyway, dudes, is that so important?” Nino takes off his cap for a moment, rubbing a hand over his temple. “Can’t do anything about it now, can we? Main goal is to get outta here.”</p><p>Adrien looks at the floor, brows furrowed. And Marinette can’t help the bad feeling blooming in her chest. She wants to ask him what is wrong, but by then, Chloé speaks up again.</p><p>“I so won’t kill anyone of you! Way too much work. And I don’t want to break my nails. I just had them done.”</p><p>“Wow,” Alya deadpans. “Very reassuring. Thank you.”</p><p>“You’re welcome.”</p><p>Senseless speculating won’t get them anywhere, though. Only defeating the akumatized villain will. So Marinette takes a sharp breath and looks up. “I think we should search the hotel for a way out. I’m pretty sure none of us will murder anyone, right? So our only option is to wait it out and be as useful as possible until Ladybug and Chat Noir come to our rescue.”</p><p>“I agree.” Nodding, Alya squints. “We should split up.”</p><p>“Split up? Oh, no, no!” Chloé points a finger at Marinette. “I won’t have her go around the hotel all on her own! I bet she’s already planning how to kill me in the most efficient way! Yes, I can see your murderous eyes, Dupain-Cheng.”</p><p>Marinette glares at her. “I’m not going to murder you, Chloé. No matter how much you get on my nerves.”</p><p>“That’s exactly what a murderer would say!”</p><p>“Okay, okay!” Alya chimes in. “We’ll go in pairs of twos. Happy? So, nobody has to be anxious about anything.”</p><p>Chloé hooks her arm around Adrien’s in an instant, showing a pout. “In that case, I’ll go with Adrikins.”</p><p>Of course. Marinette tries to stay calm and collected. Calm. And collected.</p><p>Sabrina shrieks next to her. “And me? I can’t go with anyone of … them!”</p><p>“Again, thank you,” Alya deadpans.</p><p>“Um.” With a strained expression, Adrien tries to free his arm. “How about – how about we pair best friends? Alya and Marinette, Sabrina and Chloé, Nino and me?”</p><p>Chloé’s face falls. “But Adrikins –”</p><p>“Perfect plan, bro!” Moving forward, Nino pats Adrien’s shoulder. “So, what’re we looking for?”</p><p>“Hey, but Adrikins –”</p><p>“Anything, really,” muses Alya. “Secret exits, or a place where our phone reception actually works, or – you get it.”</p><p>“Listen! Sabrina isn’t even –”</p><p>Good enough. There surely will be an opportunity to shake Alya off Marinette’s trail. No problem at all. She nods. “Great. Two pairs go upstairs and split up again, one pair inspects the dining hall? We can meet up in the lobby afterwards.”</p><p>“The lobby? You mean the same one where someone put up a shield with the lovely message, ‘Dare enter this room and be decapitated, losers’?” Alya draws up an eyebrow. “Rather not, huh? I think I heard some rumbling from there, and I so don’t want to know what exactly is going on back there.”</p><p>Touché. “Then, simply the entrance hall again?”</p><p>“Hey!” Chloé calls. “Listen, I want to –”</p><p>“Perfect!” Adrien beams at them. “We’ll meet there in about two hours, all right?”</p><p>“Chloé and Sabrina, you take the dining hall,” Alya says.</p><p>“Hey, wait – I order you all to wait! I – okay, you know what? Whatever! All of you are totally getting on my poor nerves, bye! Come on, Sabrina, let’s just go!”</p><p>Chloé gets ignored. So does the knife still stuck in the floor, glistering in artificial light.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think we’re being watched?” mumbles Marinette.</p><p>“Pretty sure we are. In the game, there were security cameras everywhere.” Adrien looks up, narrowing his eyes at one of the hotel’s cameras. “They seem to be turned off, though.”</p><p>“The security room would have been too easy, huh,” Nino sighs. “You think we really are dealing with some Junko copycat?”</p><p>Shuddering, Adrien makes a face. “Please no.”</p><p>“Dude, was an interesting character, wasn’t she?”</p><p>“She tried to kill Kirigiri. I will never forgive her for that.”</p><p>Marinette raises an eyebrow. “Who is this Kirigiri? Should I know her?”</p><p>Bringing a hand to his neck, Adrien sends her a sheepish look. “She’s, well – she’s a detective, so to say. She’s the one who helped the protagonist with solving the murder cases. Really smart, and, uh …”</p><p>“He called her cute at least ten times during our playthrough,” coughs Nino.</p><p>“Her cute moments are just very rare, okay?”</p><p>“Really.” Alya snorts. “Who are your other anime crushes? Sailor Moon?”</p><p>Adrien looks the slightest bit sulky. “Technically speaking, her name is Usagi.”</p><p>With a laugh, Alya winks at him. “I get it, I get it. Okay, boys, time to part ways.”</p><p>Marinette sends them a wave. Then she follows Alya down the hallway, arms crossed as she tries not to pout. “Really, some anime girl with a ridiculous name?” she grumbles. “Who names their kid Kirigiri?”</p><p>Alya raises an eyebrow at Marinette. “You know how unpredictable Japanese names are. Maybe that’s her surname.”</p><p>“Who cares? It’s still ridiculous!” Her shoulders slump. “How am I supposed to compete with a fictional character?”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure Adrien can differentiate between fiction and reality, so you won’t need to worry.”</p><p>“Won’t I? I mean, are you sure? Can you look into his head?”</p><p>Alya gives a deep sigh and rolls her eyes. “I am sure. He danced with you earlier, right? With you, the real and non-fictional Marinette. He’ll never do the same with this Kiriri girl, now will he?”</p><p>That makes all tension fall from Marinette’s shoulders again. “Sorry. I guess you’re right.”</p><p>And there are more important things to focus on, anyway. Like, getting away from Alya without seeming suspicious. The second floor of the hotel is empty, every single room barricaded by thick metal plates. No way to look into one of them. They go down the hallway, and when they eventually arrive at the staircase, they enter it.</p><p>The third floor is Chloé and Sabrina’s territory, so no use in looking there. Still no way to escape as they try the door to the fourth floor. It’s locked. Or blocked from the other side. And there is her opportunity. Heart pumping, Marinette suggests splitting up. Alya going upstairs, Marinette trying the basement door. Just to make sure. Not entirely out of sight, as they can still call out to each other through the stariwell, and Alya furrows her brows as she keeps staring at Marinette.</p><p>“You’ll be careful, right?” she says. “I … I did get half a heart attack when I saw that … that knife.”</p><p>“Of course,” Marinette returns, her throat closing up.</p><p>Arriving at the basement door, Marinette tries to open it. Locked, of course. She sighs as she opens her handbag, fixating her gaze on Tikki. She is met by worried eyes.</p><p>“Marinette,” the kwami whispers. “You’ll have to find a very, very secluded spot to transform. I think we’re being watched.”</p><p>Marinette shivers. When she lifts her head, she sees nothing noteworthy. But just to be sure, she crouches, bringing her handbag closer to her face. “By Despair Bear?”</p><p>“Yes. And we can’t be sure that the information isn’t leaked to Hawk Moth right away. Despair Bear is still an akumatized villain, after all.”</p><p>“So, no transforming without finding a very tiny room Despair Bear can definitely not hide in.” Marinette gives a deep breath. “Preferably a room with two doors, so Hawk Moth doesn’t see Marinette entering and Ladybug leaving. Does such a room even exist?”</p><p>“It has to.”</p><p>Marinette swallows down the sour taste in her throat. “Hawk Moth’s villains can’t … can’t kill anyone, right?”</p><p>Tikki stays silent.</p><p>“Fifth floor is locked, too,” Alya calls from upstairs. “How’s it looking with you?”</p><p>“I, uh – give me a minute, I think I can get that door to open.”</p><p>“Great! You want me to join you?”</p><p>“No, no, just keep trying the other doors.”</p><p>Sabrina and Chloé should be in the dining hall, or in the kitchen. Marinette thinks fast. She has no other choice but to silently climb the stairs to the first floor again, and as carefully as possible, she opens the door. The entrance hall greets her, empty and silent. With a little breath, she steps outside, slowly closing the door behind her again. She doesn’t have much time.</p><p>Just when she wants to start her search for a suitable room, a sudden shriek makes her pause.</p><p>“Y-you!” Sabrina says, frozen on the spot on the last stair leading to the elevators, hand on the railing. “What are you – where’s Alya?”</p><p>Marinette tries not to fidget. “I, um, lost her. I lost her.”</p><p>“You mean – you killed her!”</p><p>“What? No. I didn’t.”</p><p>“Why would you be here on your own otherwise?” Sabrina’s knees are clearly shaking, and she stumbles back. “You – I’ll be next one, won’t I? Oh my –”</p><p>“You are on your own too!” Marinette shoots back. “Where is Chloé?”</p><p>“She – I – I lost her.”</p><p>Marinette deadpans. “Did you kill her?”</p><p>“Of course not!”</p><p>“See.”</p><p>Sabrina stares at her. Breathes a few times. “Okay,” she eventually professes. “Okay. I believe you. But – but we’ll have to find them. Both of them. Before something … happens. Right?”</p><p>“Right. I’ll take this floor, you’ll take the second floor.”</p><p>Still staring at her, Sabrina’s eyes widen. “N-no! We won’t split up again! I – Chloé isn’t on this floor anyway!”</p><p>Marinette tightens her fingers to fists. Loosens them again. “Okay. Okay, then we’ll both go to the second floor and search for them, all right? We’ll take the elevator.”</p><p>Sabrina’s eyes flicker to the elevators, then back to her. She takes a small step towards Marinette. Another one. Her face is still pale, and her hands are clearly shaking. Tension turns to annoyance, and Marinette stomps towards the elevator without a second of hesitation, pressing her palm against the button. She does the same to the second elevator. Sabrina frowns.</p><p>“We only need one.”</p><p>“I want to make sure neither of them passes us by on accident,” says Marinette. “You take one elevator, I take the other one.”</p><p>For a long torturous moment, Sabrina keeps staring. Marinette returns her look steadily. Their silent conversation is interrupted by the ping of one elevator, and Sabrina jumps slightly.</p><p>“Just to be on the safe side,” Marinette goes on.</p><p>“O-okay,” Sabrina answers.</p><p>Good.</p><p>Marinette steps towards the elevator. Sabrina does, too. Their eye contact ends when Marinette steps in entirely. She presses her finger against the button opening the door. She keeps pressing. Waits for the sound of another pair of elevator doors closing. Carefully, she peeks out of her own elevator, discovering Sabrina’s starting to move up.</p><p>“The elevator!” a high-pitched voice hisses. “You could transform in an elevator! Just pick a random floor, wait long enough, and Despair Bear will have no idea!”</p><p>Marinette releases a breath. She is just about to press another button when she is interrupted by a voice yet again.</p><p>“Sabrina? Sabrina! I told you to stay close by! Incompetent, utterly incompetent! I know you’re in that elevator, so come out now or I’m going to get you out of there!”</p><p>Tikki slowly shakes her head, and with a groan, Marinette closes her bag again and leaves the elevator, leaning over the railing to see Chloé stomping up the stairs. Their eyes inevitably meet, and Chloé’s face darkens in an instant.</p><p>“You! Wait, I thought – where is Sabrina?”</p><p>“She went upstairs. Do you want to follow her?”</p><p>“Follow her?” Chloé repeats shrilly. “What am I, her servant? What are you even doing here alone?” She stares, then shrieks. “You came to kill me! Oh my god, you really did!”</p><p>“I’m not here to kill you,” Marinette responds. This is somehow becoming tiring. “I’m just searching for Alya, that’s all.”</p><p>“Alya? She wasn’t here.” Chloé huffs. “And to think I was just about to find our escape! Vanishing like that – utterly unreliable. Of course, that’s just so like Sabrina! Never –”</p><p>“You did what?” Immediately, Marinette jumps to the stairs, taking two at once as she descends. “Where? How?”</p><p>Rolling her eyes, Chloé steps back as Marinette approaches her. “Easy. I grew up in this hotel. You think I don’t know any nook and cranny? There are some doors in the dining hall and in the kitchen, and I bet you that stupid bear was too stupid to lock all of them.”</p><p>Marinette nods. “You investigate them, I’ll go get the others. All right?”</p><p>“And leave me on my own again? As if!” Chloé tosses her hair back. “You are going to come with me!”</p><p>“I thought you can’t stand being near me.”</p><p>“I can’t stand your stupid voice, first and foremost, so follow me. Quietly!”</p><p>Marinette would protest if she didn’t see how miserably Chloé is shaking. She supposes that is a natural reaction. Especially when she sees a shadow moving in the corner of her eyes. She turns her head, catching a glimpse of something small scurrying over the ceiling.</p><p>No cameras, maybe, but apparently a whole army of copies stalking them. Explains a lot, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn it!”</p><p>Chloé’s kick leaves a hollow sound that echoes through the whole kitchen. She buries her face in her hands for a moment, body still shaking. The door here didn’t work. The multiple doors in the dining hall leading to tiny hallways were locked, too. All the secret gateways Chloé knows were blocked. So, really, that leaves them with nothing.</p><p>Marinette can understand Chloé’s creeping despair, but it doesn’t help either.</p><p>“Calm down. We’ll find another way.”</p><p>A sharp laugh. “’Calm down’? You’re telling me to calm down, even though all of this is your fault? Very funny, Dupain-Cheng.”</p><p>Marinette keeps a level head, leaning against the counter behind her. “It’s not my fault. And blaming each other won’t lead us anywhere either.”</p><p>“Wow. How mature, after you were sucking up to Adrien like some leech.”</p><p>Her hand almost slips from the cold counter. She meets Chloé’s furious eyes, trying not to glare back in the same manner. “I wasn’t – I wasn’t sucking up to anyone!”</p><p>“If it wasn’t for you and your stupidity, we wouldn’t have to deal with some stupid bear who’s telling us to kill each other. So congrats, stupid baker girl!”</p><p>“Stop calling me stupid!” Marinette steps closer, and Chloé backs away immediately. “Oh, what, afraid of me? I think I know who the stupid one here really is. Just by the way, isn’t that teddy bear yours, <em>Chloékins</em>?”</p><p>Chloé’s nose turns red. “Shut up! Don’t call me that!”</p><p>“So really, it’s your fault, isn’t it? I didn’t tell Hawk Moth to akumatize your stupid bear.”</p><p>“I didn’t tell him to do so either!”</p><p>“But you were the one doing something to cause another akumazation, right? Like you always do! Some special talent of yours, I guess!”</p><p>Chloé’s jaw is working as she steps towards Marinette again, jabbing a finger against her sternum. “Listen up, baker girl. I’m not the one trying to impress a rich model with absolutely nothing to offer, okay? You’re so clearly after his looks and his status. It’s pathetic. Utterly pathetic.”</p><p>“You have no idea, Chloé. Because your sad brain apparently can’t think about anything else than looks and status.”</p><p>Chloé glares. “Well, at least I’m not some baker girl with frizzy hair and awful makeup.”</p><p>“I don’t even wear much makeup.”</p><p>“Explains the horror I have to look at right now, at least.”</p><p>Not worth it, Marinette reminds herself. She keeps returning Chloé’s glare for some more moments before swiftly turning away, her back to Chloé. As she walks away, she hears a high-pitched laugh behind her.</p><p>“Wow, running away? That’s so surprising.”</p><p>“I don’t have time for this,” Marinette shoots back. “I want to help us get out, not bicker with some entitled hotel heiress.”</p><p>“Of course! Because you’re so reliable and perfect. Oh, look at you, taking insults with so much stride! Running away like a dog because there’s nothing you could say to me, is there? Pathetic, utterly pathetic.”</p><p>Marinette doesn’t listen. She opens the dining hall’s door, almost stumbling over the object in front of it. The knife, still stuck there. She gulps and crouches to pull it out.</p><p>“Honestly? That’s just so like you, Dupain-Cheng. Nothing substantial to add, and giving yourself airs like that. Look at that, you won’t even talk to me anymore! Wow, you’re such a strong person, I can’t believe it!”</p><p>Marinette whirls around, knife still in her hand. “How can you still listen to yourself? All that’s coming out of your mouth is garbage.”</p><p>“What a comeback! I’m –” Chloé backs away the slightest bit when Marinette approaches the kitchen again. “W-what are you doing with that knife?”</p><p>“Butchering you. Oh my god, Chloé, I’m taking it back to the kitchen!”</p><p>“What? Don’t look at me like that! Have you ever seen your face? Clearly the face of a murderer!”</p><p>Marinette sighs. The knife weighs heavily in her hand, but it’s better than having someone as idiotic as Chloé stumble over it and slash her leg open in the process. In this situation, they can do without unnecessary injuries, at least.</p><p>“Yeah, got nothing to say about that, do you? Exactly what a murderer would do. No wonder Adrien would never look your way twice!”</p><p>Marinette tries. She tries so hard. But her patience is wearing thin, and she turns around once again, glaring at Chloé. “Take that back.”</p><p>Blinking, Chloé looks at her. “What, really? He really is your weak point? I mean, what, you don’t have a crush on him, do you?”</p><p>Marinette clears her throat. “Of – of course not.”</p><p>A long second of silence. A flash of delight in Chloé’s eyes. “Oh my god, you do. You so do.”</p><p>“I – no.”</p><p>“You think Adrien would ever want to be with someone like you? Don’t make me laugh!” Chloé barks out a laugh nonetheless, tossing her hair back. “Know what he says about you? Being his closest friend, you want to hear what we’re talking about, frizzy hair?”</p><p>She doesn’t. Because rationally, she knows that Chloé is making up stuff on the spot. They aren’t that close. Or are they? They aren’t. The grip around the knife tightens. “Why the hell would he talk to you about me?”</p><p>“Because there’s nothing more entertaining than making fun of pitiful people like you, of course.” She glances at her nails. “Our favorite topic? How absolutely weird you are. Yep, he thinks so too! I mean, look at you.”</p><p>Marinette feels herself pale. Only lies, she tells herself. Adrien would never talk about her like that. Would he? She is pretty weird around him, after all. And Chloé is only fueling his already wonky perception of Marinette whenever she has the chance. “I’m not weird,” Marinette says quietly, trying to wrest back at least the slightest bit of control.</p><p>“Oh, aren’t you? What a clever response, Miss Class President. You clearly deserve that title!”</p><p>Marinette’s shoulders tense. “You’re just jealous.”</p><p>“Jealous? Of you?”</p><p>“Because you don’t have any friends. Nobody likes you. Nobody can stand you. Secretly, even Sabrina despises you.” Anger drips from her words, but she can’t hold herself back anymore. “How does it feel, huh, Chloé? When nobody even wants to talk to you? Pretty lonely, isn’t it?”</p><p>Chloé’s face falls. “As if I need to talk to idiots like you do. Thanks, but no thanks.”</p><p>“In truth, not even Adrien wants to hang out with you. And you know why?” Fingers cramping, heart beating, Marinette keeps returning Chloé’s look. “Because you are a horrible person. And deep down, you know that too.”</p><p>Chloé takes a sharp step towards her until only centimeters separate their faces. Her expression is contorted in anger. “Take. That. Back.”</p><p>“What, because you can’t acknowledge the truth? Who would have thought.”</p><p>“It’s not the truth! Adrikins can stand me!”</p><p>“Oh, is that why you hang out that much?”</p><p>Chloé turns redder and redder. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. We hang out all the time!”</p><p>Snorting, Marinette keeps staring at her. “Is that so? Then why does he spend all his free time with us, huh? Yeah, you know why. Because nobody wants to be near you. Especially not Adrien.”</p><p>“You,” hisses Chloé, “are nothing more than a little, insignificant maggot trying to convince yourself you are worth anything at all. You are pathetic, Dupain-Cheng. You’ll accomplish nothing in your life. You’ll end up as some sad baker with no money and pitiful friends. You think Adrien will ever take as much as a look at you? He won’t. Because you’re nothing.”</p><p>That’s it. Too much, too low, and nothing Chloé is saying is right. She isn’t right. It’s ridiculous, every single word she spits. So ridiculous Marinette feels her eyes sting, so ridiculous she feels anger thump through her veins, and she tries to control her shaking voice as she responds.</p><p>“And still, nobody in this whole world likes you. Not even you like yourself. Who’s the pathetic one now, huh?”</p><p>A long, long second of silence. “Screw you, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloé spits, pushing Marinette back with enough force to make her stumble against one of the tables. It wasn’t a hard shove, but one that surprised Marinette nonetheless, and she stares at Chloé with wide eyes.</p><p>“Don’t – don’t push me!”</p><p>“Or what?” Chloé gives a sharp laugh. “You’re going to call Adrien for help? Aw, poor sweet Marinette, all helpless. You are pathetic.”</p><p>It’s enough. It’s finally enough. With her free hand, Marinette pushes her in just the same away. Chloé’s eyes grow comically wide as she comes to a halt again. For a moment, they stare at each other.</p><p>“You did not just touch me,” Chloé says.</p><p>“Guess I did,” Marinette returns.</p><p>Somewhere in the back of her head, Marinette knows what this is. It’s fear, and it’s creeping desperation, and she’s the only punching bag Chloé has left. But when Chloé pushes her back once again, she’s had enough.</p><p>“Stop that!” she hisses.</p><p>“What are you going to do, huh? Kill me with that knife after all?” Chloé snickers. “Like I thought. Even too pitiful to defend herself! Just like the insect that you are. Only good for being stomped on, huh?</p><p>“Shut up,” Marinette whispers.</p><p>“Aw, don’t make that face, Dupain-Cheng. See, I can shove you around all day if I wanted to!”</p><p>Shut up.</p><p>“Because, guess what. I am at the top of the food chain, and you are on the bottom.”</p><p>
  <em>Shut up.</em>
</p><p>“You will never account to anything. You will always stay some stupid, poor, pitiful little girl, and –”</p><p>It’s strange.</p><p>One moment, Chloé’s voice is still echoing in her head, high-pitched and annoying, words that she wants to get out of her head again, now, <em>now</em>. And then, suddenly, Chloé is silent. Completely silent. The whole world is. Because something is wrong, and Marinette realizes what exactly that is when she glances at her hands.</p><p>They are red.</p><p>She is Ladybug.</p><p>Her hands are shaking.</p><p>Is she Ladybug?</p><p>There’s something lying in front of her feet, something weird. Something yellow and red.</p><p>She isn’t Ladybug.</p><p>Marinette inspects her hands. When she moves them, some spots of dried red crumble off her hands. There’s ringing in her ears, and a voice. She thinks it’s calling her name, but she isn’t sure. Another blur of red, or pink, and Marinette realizes she is falling to her knees, all strength having left her.</p><p>Her sleeves are rolled up. That’s good, she supposes, even though she doesn’t know why. Her eyes trail from her hands to that thing in front of her. The dining’s hall carpet is also red. The knife is lying next to the pile of senseless colors. The knife is covered in something red and glistening. There’s still that voice, and she can’t get rid of it, can’t listen to it properly.</p><p>She’ll have to get this into her head. She’ll have to be cool and collected about this. Facts first. The rest can come later.</p><p>Facts, then.</p><p>In front of her, Chloé is lying on the floor.</p><p>Marinette’s hands are full of blood.</p><p>Despair Bear told them that if the blackened is found out, they alone are going to die.</p><p>If there’s one person here who can’t die, it’s her. It’s Ladybug. Ladybug can’t die. Ladybug has to fix this. Can Ladybug bring back the dead? She doesn’t know. She has to find out. She almost laughs. She wants to throw up. She can’t throw up, because that would be a clue.</p><p>She can’t leave any clues.</p><p>She can’t die.</p><p>“Look, look, I’m not going to meddle with the trial. That’d be so despairingly boring! But, really, if you keep sitting here like a lost lamb, you’re going to be busted sooner than I can say ‘Marinette murdered Chloé’.”</p><p>Marinette lifts her head again. Green glowing eyes. “She isn’t dead,” she says for whatever reason, her voice shaking.</p><p>“Oh, sorry and stuff, but that blondie? Dead as a mouse. Could drag her around the whole room and she wouldn’t make a peep. Exactly what you wanted, right?”</p><p>“Shut up,” she whispers.</p><p>“Or what? You’re going to stabbedy-stab me too? Aw, that’s rich!”</p><p>“It wasn’t me.”</p><p>“Sorry to tell you, missy, but these?” Despair Bear’s paw points at his eyes. “Way more than some glowing orbs. Cameras. I’ve got you on tape! Just try to get outta that one.” A little sniffle. “I’m so proud. My first guest finding the guts to butcher one of their dear friends, already acting like a true blackened should. Ruthless and heartless. And I didn’t even have to use a motive! Ha, take that, stupid Agreste.”</p><p>She doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t know how to get out of this. “What do I do?” she therefore asks, panic making her whole body quiver.</p><p>“What? You ask me? Me?” Despair Bear barks out a laugh. “Whatever you wanna do, missy! Come on, give us a good trial. Think! You’ll have to deceive your fellow hotel guests somehow, so think, eh?”</p><p>So she thinks.</p><p>Shaking hands. Marinette gets up. Her world is a blur. Carefully, she approaches Chloé. What is left of her. Eyes half-closed, expression stuck in one last breath. Marinette thinks about feeling for her pulse, but her fingers are bloody and that would be kind of suspicious, finding bloody fingerprints on Chloé’s throat.</p><p>Despair Bear confirmed it anyway. She’s dead. She’s <em>dead</em>.</p><p>It doesn’t make sense. She has to move, but it doesn’t make sense.</p><p>But that knife? It’s suspicious. Enough so to jeopardize her.</p><p>It only occurs to Marinette when she slowly approaches the knife. She has to fix this, but with Despair Bear watching her every move, she can’t. She’ll have to get rid of him. Somehow. The knife in her hand weighs heavily. There’s still blood on it. If she can de-evilize the akuma, everything will be fixed. Nobody will be injured, or dead.</p><p>Her fingers cramp around the handle. She breathes hard. Whirls around. Despair Bear is looking up at her, and when she lifts the knife slightly, he laughs.</p><p>“Really? Missy, this is breaking a rule. And to think I was so proud of you! Come on, you know that’s not the way to go.”</p><p>She freezes in her movements. “If I try to kill you, what will you do?”</p><p>“Kill you instead. A trial without a murderer? Sad. But no trial at all because someone ripped off my poor cute head? Even sadder.”</p><p>Sudden shadows dancing over the floor. When Marinette looks up, three copies of Despair Bear stare down at her, silvery objects in their paws. Think, she tells herself. <em>Think</em>. Even if she was to get the akuma out, she’d need to de-evilize it without being found out as Ladybug.</p><p>Or Hawk Moth would stop this craziness once he’s in control again.</p><p>Or maybe he wouldn’t.</p><p>She wants to scream.</p><p>They need Ladybug. Now more than ever. She needs Ladybug, and the earrings are still there. They are, and Marinette realizes she is touching her earlobes with bloodied fingers. So she stops again.</p><p>She’ll have to think.</p><p>There’s the knife. There’s redness coloring Chloé’s stomach. There’s so much redness. There’s a pool of blood. There’s too much blood. Chloé is on her back, and there’s so much blood.</p><p>An accident. It was an accident. Oh god, she didn’t mean to. She would have never hurt anyone. Not even Chloé. How did it happen? She can’t remember. It’s gone. Her head is a mess.</p><p>She breathes.</p><p>She can’t die, and that’s her priority.</p><p>If the blackened doesn’t get found out, they survive. She needs to survive. She thinks. Enters the kitchen. Hears the sound of tiny steps following her. She keeps thinking. Washes the knife first, pinkish water running down the drain. Washes her hands. Shaking fingers reaching for her phone. She can’t look at herself. She can’t look at herself.</p><p>She looks at herself.</p><p>A pale face, but otherwise, she is fine. Only one spot of smeared blood on her jaw she quickly washes away. She notices a spot of blood still resting on her knuckle. On her fingers. On all of her fingers. On her palms, her hands, her wrists, her arms –</p><p>She throws up into the sink.</p><p>“Oh, wow, that sure is nasty,” Despair Bear snickers next to her. “Sure are cloaking up the pipes. That will cost you extra for your stay. But if you entertain me during the trial, I’ll forgive that faux pas. Come on, Marinette, I know you can do better!”</p><p>Whimpering, she washes the bile away. She can’t cry. Crying would be suspicious. It would leave puffy, reddened eyes. She needs to survive. She needs to fix this. She needs to find a spot to transform, but with Despair Bear trailing her movements, that will be difficult. Still, Marinette has the earrings. She presses her fingers against them. They are still hers. She can still fix this.</p><p>Chloé showed her a door that leads to another staircase Marinette didn’t know of before. She uses it. Even if Chloé is found, nobody would think to search for the weapon on the second floor. Also, she needs to get away. She can’t be near a dead body when it’s discovered, Despair Bear was right.</p><p>No, no – she can’t be near Chloé.</p><p><em>Chloé</em>.</p><p>“How long are you going to follow me for?” she asks Despair Bear as she descends the stairs.</p><p>“Why, are you nervous? No worries. I just thought you’d have questions, being the first one to coldly murder one of your friends.”</p><p><em>I didn’t murder her</em>, she has to say. “She isn’t my friend,” she says instead.</p><p>“Cold! Impressive. Okay, then, I can watch from a distance too. Good luck! And never forget, I’m so very proud of you.”</p><p>He never said he’d stop watching her.</p><p>On the second floor, Marinette listens for steps. She hears something. She hears voices, and she recognizes Alya and Nino’s among them. Not close by. Even they can’t find out. Especially them. What would they say? Would they believe her if she said it was an accident? They would have to. They are her friends, after all.</p><p>If Marinette wants to survive, she’ll have to deceive them. And deceiving them means letting Despair Bear kill all of them except for herself.</p><p>If Marinette wants to survive, she’ll have to become the reason for their deaths, too.</p><p>She is shaking. The hallway is decorated with tables, with vases. She approaches one of them. Quickly, on quivering legs. Hides the knife in one of the vases, trying to do it as quietly as possible. She is cold. So icily cold she can hardly move her fingers. Steps approaching her, still far away, and her heart jumps. She can’t be seen. Not here, not now. So she moves back to the staircase before anyone can catch sight of her.</p><p>She needs a plan. She needs an alibi. Sabrina will say she didn’t turn up on the seond floor. Marinette will say she was held up. By whom? Chloé? On the first floor? Yes, why not. And she stayed there. Waiting for the others. Chloé was alone when Marinette last saw her. That’s a good alibi. Isn’t it?</p><p>It has to be.</p><p>Marinette feels watched. She is pretty sure she is being watched. She can’t even glance into her bag. Can’t even ask Tikki for advice. Can’t see if Tikki would look at her accusingly, or if she would have sympathy. But it only was an accident. Marinette deserves sympathy.</p><p>She does. She does.</p><p>So Marinette reaches the first floor.</p><p>The entrance hall is empty, metal plates hiding the outside world from sight. Marinette pretends to be busy. There’s blood underneath one of her fingernails. She pulls it out. She tries not to cry. She has to do something. When she glances upwards, a copy of Despair Bear is watching her. She wishes she had a knife to throw at this thing. She wishes –</p><p>The feeling of the heavy knife in her hand. It needs pressure to cut through something thick. It needs more strength than Marinette anticipated, even when it is as sharp as it can be. It needs a hand able to aim well, she realized.</p><p>She needs to fix this.</p><p>“Marinette?”</p><p>Alya’s voice makes her jump so violently she knocks something off the hotel counter. A vase that shatters into thousand pieces. Marinette stares at it for so long that she doesn’t even hear Alya’s steps, and her voice brings Marinette back to reality again.</p><p>“I’m so – sorry, I didn’t want to startle you.”</p><p>“No! No. I’m sorry.” How can she look at Alya without revealing the truth in an instant? She has to try. God, she has to survive. So she smiles and looks at Alya. “Clumsy again, I guess.”</p><p>“Yep, nothing unusual.” Alya sighs. “Girl, where the hell were you? I went searching for you on the second floor, but I couldn’t find you.”</p><p>She thinks. Keeps her panic out of this. If she could fool Alya regarding Ladybug, it must be easy to fool her regarding this, too. Right?</p><p>“Oh – yeah. I heard something on the first floor and met Sabrina there. So sorry, I should have told you.”</p><p>Alya sighs. “Well, no worries. We assembled all the others. Something about Chloé finding something in the dining hall?”</p><p>Marinette stares. “Chloé said that?”</p><p>“Nope. Sabrina said something … Don’t ask me, too complicated. But Nino and Adrien are on their way there, too.” Alya slings an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “Let’s go get out of this hotel. Starting to give me the creeps, especially with those stupid bears everywhere.” She points two fingers towards the ceiling. “Yep, I can see you, just FYI!”</p><p>Everyone in the dining hall.</p><p>Everyone seeing the dead body – no, seeing Chloé.</p><p>Everyone.</p><p>Marinette can’t do anything. She can only let herself be dragged into the elevator. She can only stare at the doors closing as they go up. She can only try not to stumble over her feet as they get closer. She can only try not to throw up again as she imagines their faces. She can only try to listen to Alya talking as they enter the dining hall. Only the artificial light of dozens of lamps, only the weird metallic smell of blood, only dreadful silence.</p><p>The body is still there.</p><p>Chloé is still there.</p><p>Nobody else is.</p><p>“What …” Alya stops in her tracks. “That – that isn’t blood, is it?”</p><p>Marinette shakes her head. “No,” she whispers. “No. No.”</p><p>“I – oh my – oh god, is that –”</p><p>“No,” Marinette keeps whispering. Stumbles backwards until her body meets the wall. Repeating the word over and over again. Feeling tears well up in her eyes. That wasn’t her. It couldn’t have been her. She didn’t kill Chloé. Oh god, she didn’t kill Chloé.</p><p>“Oh, finally, there you are!” another voice joins them. Sabrina. “We can’t find Chloé, though. We searched on –”</p><p>“Sabrina,” Alya calls out. Her voice is shaky and too loud. “Don’t come in here.”</p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>“Just – don’t.”</p><p>“Alya?” Nino sounds careful and hesitant. “You all right?”</p><p>Alya stays quiet.</p><p>“Okay, what is wrong?” Adrien’s voice, and Marinette feels like screaming yet again. Steps, hasty words, and then, silence.</p><p>Finally, someone starts screaming.</p><p>It’s Sabrina, falling to her knees in wild sobs.</p><p>Finally, Marinette is allowed to cry along with her.</p><p>“Congrats, guys,” Despair Bear announces loudly. “A body has been discovered!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. deadly life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette wants to block it all out. To never look at the body again. To ignore the faces around her, crumbling with disbelief and despair. But she is still sobbing, and she doesn’t deserve the hand coming to rest on her shoulder. Alya is looking at her, her own eyes watery, her jaw set.</p>
<p>“I think you should get out of this room,” she says.</p>
<p>That’s reasonable. That’s something Marinette absolutely can’t do. She has to see what comes next. She didn’t understand a lot, but she knows there will be a trial. She knows she’ll have to deceive all of them, and she can’t if she’s being useless right now.</p>
<p>“I’m okay,” she therefore whispers.</p>
<p>Alya keeps looking at her. Marinette’s heart jumps. But then, Alya sighs and removes her glasses to rub her eyes. “Fuck this,” she mumbles. “All of this. Who would … who of us would …”</p>
<p>“It was you,” Adrien professes, his voice uncharacteristically cold.</p>
<p>Marinette sharply lifts her head, her whole body freezing. But the words weren’t directed at her. Adrien is staring at Despair Bear, hands clenched to fists, eyes glazed over. And Despair Bear’s laugh is so shrill that Marinette wants to hide away once again.</p>
<p>“Sorry, kid! Wasn’t me. I’m an honest bear – I’d only kill someone if they violated a rule, and I wouldn’t keep that from you. What good is a punishment that goes unnoticed? Nope, that gruesome act is all on one of you!”</p>
<p>“Nobody of us would kill Chloé,” Adrien hisses.</p>
<p>“Welp, Mr. Oblivious, one of you clearly did.”</p>
<p>For a moment, it seems like Adrien will lunge himself at Despair Bear, anger flaming up in his eyes in a way Marinette has never seen before. It needs seconds until Adrien turns away soundlessly, starting to pace. Nino is watching him, still crouching next to a whimpering Sabrina. Nobody got closer to Chloé than ten meters. Her bloodied body sits in the middle of the dining hall, forever silent and forever unmoving.</p>
<p>“Well.” Alya finally lets go of Marinette, putting her glasses back on. “Adrien. You said a video game is clearly the inspiration for Despair Bear, right? Do you think he will follow the rest of the game’s rules?”</p>
<p>Adrien doesn’t stop pacing. “Up to now, the course of events is pretty much identical. Despair Bear announces the rules, everybody agrees not to kill anyone. Someone gets killed.”</p>
<p>Marinette shivers. She can’t let herself seem suspicious. She’ll have to play along. “And then?”</p>
<p>“A trial, missy, of course!” Despair Bear turns around to her. For a moment, she thinks he’ll just give her away. Reveal her as the murderer she is (she isn’t. She isn’t a murderer. She swears she isn’t). But he doesn’t. “All of you will try to find out who the culprit is. Until then, you have one hour to investigate the scene of crime and beyond. Well, do your worst!”</p>
<p>“Maybe she isn’t even dead,” Alya whispers.</p>
<p>“Keep believing what you will, glasses.” In one quick motion, Despair Bear jumps towards Alya. Giving a shriek, Alya backs away, but all he does is hold out a piece of paper to her. “There ya go. An autopsy report, because I’m such a good beary soul.”</p>
<p>It takes Alya no more than two seconds to rip the paper from Despair Bear’s paws, and he waves at them, face as unmoving as ever.</p>
<p>“See ya in the lobby in one hour, losers!”</p>
<p>And then, he’s gone.</p>
<p>Marinette doesn’t know where to look. So she looks at her hands. Faintly, Alya’s voice reaches her. “Died from a stab wound, specifically an injury to the aorta. Only one stab wound in total. No time of death, cause of death is blood loss. Um … The hell is an aorta?”</p>
<p>Hands that buried a knife in Chloé’s stomach.</p>
<p>Marinette whimpers, hiding her face behind her burning palms.</p>
<p>“Okay. Adrien, how are you feeling?” Alya continues.</p>
<p>“Like shit.”</p>
<p>“I get it. But I also get the feeling you’d want us to succeed in this trial.”</p>
<p>“I do. Because if we don’t, Despair Bear is going to execute all of us except the culprit.”</p>
<p>“And if we do succeed,” Nino chimes in, “the culprit will be executed.”</p>
<p>That brings silence. At least one of them will die. And Marinette has to make sure she is the one killing all of them.</p>
<p>This isn’t the time to get weak, though.</p>
<p>She breathes in. Stands up, gets closer to Chloé. Dried blood, her clothes soaked in red. She ignores Alya’s looks, she ignores Adrien’s hand reaching out for her without touching her, and she goes to her knees next to Chloé. Sullying her own clothes that way. With a shaking hand, she presses two fingers against Chloé’s throat.</p>
<p>She is icily cold.</p>
<p>Marinette is icily cold, too.</p>
<p>“She’s dead,” she announces.</p>
<p>Sabrina breaks out into another fit of sobs, making herself small as she leans into Nino’s arms. He tilts his head until his face is hidden behind his cap. “I think I’ll take her outside,” he tells the rest of them, and he doesn’t wait for an answer before helping Sabrina to her feet. She is shaking so uncontrollably that it seems like she’ll stumble over her own feet at any moment, but Nino holds her upright as they exit the dining hall.</p>
<p>Marinette retracts her fingers, but keeps staring at Chloé’s pale face. Lips slightly parted, but it doesn’t look like she died in pain. At least that much. How is this possible? Marinette would never kill anyone. What happened? Why can’t she remember? She only knows that it was her. An accident, some stupid, stupid accident.</p>
<p>She looks up when Adrien crouches down across from her. He glances at Chloé, face contorting, and with a deep breath, he brings his hand to his eyes.</p>
<p>“Adrien,” she tries. “Are you …?”</p>
<p>“I just need a second,” he replies, voice cracking.</p>
<p>She is the one making him feel like this. She is the one responsible for all the distress. Can she fix this? She doesn’t know. She needs to. The urge to reach for her handbag is so overwhelming she feels herself shiver, but she’ll have to go through this on her own. For now.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” she whispers.</p>
<p>Adrien shakes his head. “I can’t believe it. I can’t – we acted like characters in some stupid video game. We actually killed … God.”</p>
<p>“Not we,” she corrects. “One of us.”</p>
<p>That makes him pause. Maybe it’s something she shouldn’t have said. But then, he sighs, letting his hand sink down again. “You know what the main villain’s goal was? In that game.”</p>
<p>Marinette swallows. “No. What?”</p>
<p>“Despair. She wanted to bring despair over the whole of humanity. Because despair breaks us. So if there’s one thing we can’t do right now, it’s to despair.”</p>
<p>That’s somehow weird, but the power Adrien said it with gives her a shimmer of hope she doesn’t quite know what to do with. Before she can think of an answer, Alya joins them, jaw still set.</p>
<p>“Beautiful words, detective,” says Alya. “Then let’s not despair. Ladybug will surely be able to fix this, too.”</p>
<p>Adrien glances at her, then at Chloé. “Did she ever bring back the dead?”</p>
<p>“She can fix anything. So, yep, she will bring back Chloé. This is just temporary.”</p>
<p>Alya’s words sound so confident that Marinette wants to hide away. But it’s the truth, right? Ladybug can fix anything. Absolutely anything.</p>
<p>“And until Ladybug turns up, we’ll make ourselves useful and try not to die, I guess.” Alya sighs. “Unless this is just a stupid game we can’t win.”</p>
<p>“Well … Going by the video game’s logic,” Adrien muses out loud, “something that is bound to fail from the start can’t fuel hope, so it can’t fuel despair either. I don’t think this case is impossible to solve, or else Despair Bear wouldn’t even bother.”</p>
<p>Alya nods slowly. “So we really are doing this, huh? Investigating Chloé’s murder.”</p>
<p>The truth hits so hard Marinette jumps to her feet. “We – are we – I never investigated a murder, how can we even …”</p>
<p>Alya holds up one finger. “We’ll need a motive.” Another finger. “A murder weapon.” Another finger. “An opportunity. It’s just an overly complicated puzzle, and the chance to get it right is one out of five. If we all work together, it shouldn’t be too hard.”</p>
<p>“But …” Marinette tries to keep her breathing evenly. “What if the culprit tries to manipulate us?”</p>
<p>“Oh, I already have my suspicions,” Alya mutters.</p>
<p>This isn’t good, is it? It isn’t.</p>
<p>“A stab to the stomach,” Adrien says, eyes on the wound. He looks pale, but his brows are furrowed. “What did the report say? Aorta? Could be an artery. There is a lot of blood.”</p>
<p>Alya nods slowly, also inspecting the wound. “Do you think it’s easy to hit that?”</p>
<p>“Well … I don’t know? The stomach area is pretty much unprotected, right? Not a lot of bones to hinder a knife from going deeper, so …”</p>
<p>“Even something that someone without a lot of strength could have done, is what I’m asking.”</p>
<p>Adrien shrugs. “Yeah. I think so.”</p>
<p>“And really, with just some luck, I bet it’s relatively easy to hit something vital.”</p>
<p>Gritting his teeth, Adrien nods. “I agree. There doesn’t need to be much planning involved.” He keeps quiet for two seconds. “I think this happened in the heat of the moment.”</p>
<p>Alya looks up. “Because?”</p>
<p>“Because clearly, no planning went into this. We’ve got a body right in the middle of a room. We’ve got a clear picture of how it happened – one stab, and the culprit panicked. They didn’t think about moving the body. They didn’t think about setting up something more complicated, because in that moment, they couldn’t.”</p>
<p>“Makes it easier for us, huh?” says Alya.</p>
<p>“We should hope so,” Adrien returns.</p>
<p>Marinette’s stomach is churning. She didn’t expect them to stay that calm. To put so much trust into Ladybug. To go at this that seriously. Her hands are shaking, and she takes a little step back. “But there is no murder weapon,” she points out.</p>
<p>Alya nods and stands up. “Not here, maybe. In their panic, the culprit must have hidden it somewhere. Well, at least we know that they aren’t coldblooded enough to be absolutely calculating, huh?”</p>
<p>That doesn’t help.</p>
<p>“I think we should split up,” Adrien says. “Search for clues.”</p>
<p>Alya glances at him. “Everyone on their own?”</p>
<p>He keeps quiet for so long it’s becoming uncomfortable.</p>
<p>“Yeah, same. Too much a risk. We can’t have the culprit let clues vanish.” Alya lowers her voice. “That’s what you were thinking, right?”</p>
<p>Adrien doesn’t answer, and that in and of itself is answer enough.</p>
<p>“We’re five persons,” Alya continues, voice hard. “One pair, one trio. I think – I think I’ll stay here with Nino and Sabrina. Right now, Sabrina doesn’t need to … She should rest.”</p>
<p>Marinette jumps when Adrien’s eyes land on her. She doesn’t deserve the softness shining in them. “Leaves us two, doesn’t it? Is that okay with you, Marinette?”</p>
<p>“Of course,” she whispers.</p>
<p>Her hands are shaking when she follows him. She hopes nobody notices it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“All of them are still here.”</p>
<p>Marinette quickly glances around, searching for any kind of clue she could have accidentally left. A spot of blood, or – she doesn’t know, hair? Fingerprints? Would fingerprints be of any use? Probably not. “All of what?” she repeats distractedly, crossing her arms to hide her shaking hands.</p>
<p>“Knives. So either, the culprit didn’t use one of them. Or they came back here, washed off the blood, and put it back.” He leans over the counter, his shoulders tense. “But that wouldn’t make sense.”</p>
<p>Marinette’s eyes wander to the sink. Her heart drops. There’s a spot of pink liquid on white furniture. Oh god. Is that bad? She doesn’t know. Does she want Adrien to believe the culprit wasn’t here? She doesn’t know. She’ll have to think, fast. Right now, she could still swipe it away easily without him noticing.</p>
<p>“Why wouldn’t it?” she asks, taking a tiny step towards the sink.</p>
<p>“Because that would mean that the culprit went into this kitchen and took that knife with a specific goal in mind. That would mean …” A hard breath. “That it was premeditated.”</p>
<p>Marinette pauses.</p>
<p>“And I … I refuse to believe someone of us thought out a whole plan to murder Chloé. That’s impossible.”</p>
<p>Her heart sinks further. She feels horrible, and guilty, and still. If Adrien can convince himself of that fact so much, it’s easy to confuse him further. It’s easy to distract him from all logical thoughts.</p>
<p>He doesn’t want to trust his own intuition, and it’s something she can use.</p>
<p>Marinette grabs the counter. Braces herself.</p>
<p>“I … I think I found something.”</p>
<p>Adrien looks over his shoulder, follows her gesture until he spots the pinkish drop of water. He comes closer, looks at it.</p>
<p>“Diluted blood,” he notes.</p>
<p>“Seems so.”</p>
<p>“So, the culprit was here to clean themselves and the weapon, probably.”</p>
<p>“Probably.”</p>
<p>“They might have used one of the knives here, then.”</p>
<p>“Probably.”</p>
<p>Adrien keeps staring at the sink. “Do you think the attack left blood on their clothes?”</p>
<p>She feels her heart beat up to her throat. “I, uh … I don’t know? There was a lot of blood, so probably? It depends, doesn’t it?”</p>
<p>“It does. But I’m pretty sure it would have left at least a few sprinkles.”</p>
<p>“Possibly,” she mumbles.</p>
<p>They keep searching the kitchen. But Marinette was careful. Even though Adrien is right. She could have set up a scene that would have made her less suspicious. She could have dragged Chloé’s body somewhere else, or set red herrings. In her panic, she didn’t. That’s stupid.</p>
<p>When she realizes just what exactly she is thinking about, her stomach churns.</p>
<p>“Hey, look at that,” Adrien wrenches her from her thoughts. “I think … I think there’s more blood.”</p>
<p>She almost can’t move. She forces herself to. The tiniest spot of red on a door handle leading to that staircase nobody but her and Chloé knew about. Something she didn’t even notice. And she thought she was so thorough. A sour taste climbs up her throat. She swallows it down.</p>
<p>“The culprit used that door,” she says.</p>
<p>“Sure seems so.” Adrien sends her an unsure look. “You don’t seem well. Do you want to sit down for a second?”</p>
<p>She shakes her head. “I’m okay. It’s just … All of this, it’s just …”</p>
<p>“Yeah. I still can’t imagine anyone would …” A sigh. “Let’s go.”</p>
<p>A narrow hallway until they arrive at the staircase. Adrien tells her some of his thoughts. That with this discovery, they can also assume that the culprit could have been anywhere. That without a time of death, every single one of them will need a good enough alibi.</p>
<p>They really do.</p>
<p>She suggests trying the doors, and like she thought, of all the doors leading to higher floors, only the one to the second one opens. The idea forming in her head makes her shiver, but it’s the only chance for her to get out of this. Albeit she’ll have to be clever about it. Even though it’s only a video game, Adrien seems familiar with a lot of twists such murder mysteries offer. Honestly, he is as much a threat as Alya. The only positive thing about it: he seems to be more gullible.</p>
<p>If she can twist this whole situation in her favor, that is.</p>
<p>She recognizes the vase she hid the knife in, and when she does, she stumbles over her feet. Her last anchor is the table. She grips it so hard it shakes, the sound of an object inside a hollow space echoing through the quietness. Adrien is quick to help her up again, and she shows a shaky smile.</p>
<p>“Sorry, clumsy me,” she mumbles. “But … Did you hear that?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he mumbles. Looks into the vase. Gingerly pulls out the knife, and his face is a mask of soberness as he regards it from all sides. “That’s … That’s odd.”</p>
<p>She looks at the knife. Looks at him. “Do you think that’s …?”</p>
<p>“Must be. What else would a knife do here?” He puts the knife on the table, rubs his neck. “But … Why here? And where did it come from? The knife block in the kitchen isn’t missing anything.”</p>
<p>Marinette wrinkles her forehead. “Why would the culprit go all the way up here to hide the knife?”</p>
<p>“To put us off track,” Adrien replies. “To make us think they’d mingle with the rest of us on the second floor.”</p>
<p>Well, yes. Exactly. Instead of agreeing, she shrugs. “Or it is what they really did. They mingled with the rest here.”</p>
<p>Adrien doesn’t answer, and that’s so weird that terror washes over her in an icy wave. But then, he exhales soundly.</p>
<p>“Let’s look around some more. Maybe they left another clue.”</p>
<p>But she didn’t. Thank god that she didn’t. The second floor doesn’t offer anything else, and by the time they reenter the staircase, eventually arriving at the first floor, they are greeted by a copy of Despair Bear staring down at them from the ceiling. Adrien glances at it, then at his phone.</p>
<p>“Ten minutes left,” he says.</p>
<p>She fidgets. “That trial … Do you think it will be similar to what you saw in that video game?”</p>
<p>“Probably.” Adrien shrugs. “The only thing we were spared from was the endless exposition at the beginning. Really, especially the third game feels more like an exposition simulator than an actual murder mystery game. I spent way too much time …” He interrupts himself. “Sorry. That doesn’t help us right now.”</p>
<p>Babbling Adrien is cute. Less so when all that spins through her mind is the fact that she can’t die. Especially not at the hands of someone who is more familiar with the trial’s mechanics than she is. The entrance hall is empty, the shards of the vase she knocked off still littering the floor. At least the shield is gone from the lobby’s doors.</p>
<p>“Were you good at the figuring out part? Did you ever guess correctly?” she asks.</p>
<p>“Most clues become apparent during class trials. I got some right in my first playthrough, but only after half of the trial.”</p>
<p>He did, huh? Is she a good enough liar to deceive him, then? She doesn’t know. She needs another strategy.</p>
<p>“But none of us would ever kill Chloé, right?” she whispers.</p>
<p>A second of silence. “Yeah. I still can’t imagine anyone would.”</p>
<p>“Maybe it really was Despair Bear, and right now, he’s just toying with us.”</p>
<p>Another long second of silence. “But if we wanted to kill us, wouldn’t he have done so by now?”</p>
<p>“Not if he wants to torture us.”</p>
<p>Adrien looks at her. She wants to duck underneath his eyes. Instead, she tries to seem as innocent as possible. By returning his look, by tilting her head, by waiting for second after second.</p>
<p>A jingling sound makes both of them turn their heads. Alya emerges from the elevator, Nino and Sabrina trailing behind her. Nino’s hand is still on Sabrina’s arm, and she’s still looking pale as a ghost, and Alya’s hardened features make Marinette shiver.</p>
<p>“Can’t believe we’re doing this,” she says when she stops before Adrien and Marinette. “I just hope Ladybug will hurry the hell up.”</p>
<p>Right. Right, Marinette could have tried to slip away from Adrien and transform in an elevator. There would have been so many opportunities, and she didn’t use a single one. Because her mind was preoccupied with concealing the fact that she is the culprit.</p>
<p>She’s horrible, isn’t she?</p>
<p>“Me too,” Adrien mumbles. Then he nods at the lobby’s doors. Despair Bear is standing next to them, waiting for them with an unmoving face. “Until then, let’s just … Let’s try to survive.”</p>
<p>He sounds bitter and defeated, and Marinette feels exactly the same way, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No stands for us?”</p>
<p>Despair Bear cackles. “Oh, what, Adrien-chan needs extra furniture to feel special? Well, I’ll think about arranging something just for you. Because you are my favorite hotel guest. Meaning I actually despise you, but I don’t think that’s much of a secret. No offense.”</p>
<p>Adrien’s eyes turn tired as he looks at Despair Bear. “Non taken.”</p>
<p>“Adrien-chan,” Alya repeats. “What?”</p>
<p>“He was trying to sound dismissive by calling me cute,” Adrien explains.</p>
<p>Puffing his chest, Despair Bear throws up his paws. “Don’t explain my jokes! Explaining jokes makes them less funny, you weeb.”</p>
<p>“Because you are so funny anyway.” Alya rolls her eyes.</p>
<p>“I don’t appreciate disrespectful guests! Not like you’ll get out of this trial anyway.”</p>
<p>And that much seems to be true. They are all sitting on couches which are forming a circle, and this seems less like a trial than a comfortable afternoon spent together. Only that Marinette killed someone. Only that they’ll try to find out who the culprit is. Only that she’ll have to lie to all of them.</p>
<p>“You get one hour until you’ll have to vote for a culprit. And like I already explained – you guess right, the culprit gets executed. You guess incorrectly, everyone except the culprit gets executed, and they alone can leave. Lovely, isn’t it?” Laughing, Despair Bear sinks back in the little throne he built for himself out of rubbish, sitting at the other end of the room. “Now, discuss! Good luck!”</p>
<p>“Well, dudes. I think it’s pretty obvious,” Nino announces.</p>
<p>Marinette freezes to a statue. She leans further back, trying not to show how much her hands are shaking.</p>
<p>“We don’t discuss any of that. We make it a tie. Everyone votes for themselves, yeah? No need to distrust each other.” Nino shrugs. “We’ll drag this crap out until Ladybug and Chat Noir save the day. Easy, ain’t it?”</p>
<p>“Hey!” Despair Bear flares up. “I won’t let this stand! Not cool at all, cap boy! If you get a tie, or need more than that one hour, I’ll execute all of you including the culprit! Ha, tough luck!”</p>
<p>Nino gives a deep breath. “All right. Or we let the culprit escape, and they search for help outside. Ladybug will fix this anyway.”</p>
<p>Alya gives an incredulous laugh. “Wow, what a great plan. If the culprit would please raise their hand?”</p>
<p>Marinette works her jaw. That would be a great plan – if she could trust it. If she was in their position, unsure if Ladybug is even able to bring back the dead, she wouldn’t be willing to give her life to test the theory. So her hand stays where it is.</p>
<p>Sabrina’s shaking voice breaks the awkward silence. “O-of course the culprit won’t admit it that easily. They … they are coldblooded. They killed Chloé without batting an eye. I’m – I’m sure they want to deceive us.”</p>
<p>“And who would know that better than the culprit herself,” says Alya.</p>
<p>Her words bring a heavy moment of silence. Then, frowning, Adrien sits upright. “Did you just …”</p>
<p>“Accuse Sabrina of murder? I did.” Adjusting her glasses, Alya starts gesturing. “Look at the facts. She was with Chloé the whole time – opportunity. She used one of the knives in the kitchen – murder weapon. She finally felt fed up with Chloé’s antics and her disrespect – motive. Case solved.”</p>
<p>“What?” Sabrina shrieks. “I did not kill Chloé! How – how dare you – I didn’t –” Eyes watery, Sabrina hiccups, not bringing out another word</p>
<p>If Marinette wasn’t in this situation, she would defend her. But with how determined Alya looks – it’s a golden opportunity. So she swallows down all her doubts and bites her lip.</p>
<p>“But it does make sense, doesn’t it?” she says.</p>
<p>She feels Adrien’s eyes on her. For a moment, she can’t bring herself to look at him. And when she does, she is met by a disbelief that makes shame bloom in her chest. But she can’t die. She <em>can’t</em>.</p>
<p>So she waits.</p>
<p>“Wait. Wait, all of you.” Finally, Adrien turns his head away from her again. “Alya, you don’t even have all the facts. We never told you about the evidence we found.”</p>
<p>Alya frowns. “Well, then what are you waiting for? Tell us.”</p>
<p>“Uh, we … We found a staircase close to the kitchen. It’s pretty clear that the culprit used it – there was blood on the handle. And on the second floor, we found a knife hidden in a vase. I’m pretty sure it’s the murder weapon.”</p>
<p>Alya shrugs. “So? Doesn’t debunk my theory.”</p>
<p>“But,” Nino chimes in, and despite his easygoing tone, the hard shimmer in his eyes is easily noticeable, “you’re dismissing a lot here, aren’t ya? Because if there is that staircase, and if we know the culprit used it, it means all of us need a good alibi.”</p>
<p>“You’re really jumping to conclusions here, Alya,” Adrien adds.</p>
<p>“Yeah? And you both are naïve as hell. Who else would have had a motive to kill Chloé?”</p>
<p>“Marinette,” Sabrina whispers.</p>
<p>It was a tiny, quiet word. It makes all heads turn to her. Marinette feels herself pale, and her eyes widen. “What? Why – why would I kill Chloé?” she forces herself to say.</p>
<p>“Because you could never stand her.” Sabrina’s eyes well up with fresh tears. “Because – because here, you had the perfect opportunity for revenge.”</p>
<p>Marinette opens her mouth. No sound will escape her. She needs to lie. She needs to make them believe she is innocent. Because she is innocent. She is. It was an accident. Only an accident.</p>
<p>“I would never,” she therefore says, voice shaky and yet as powerful as she can manage, “kill anyone. I would never in my life stoop so low. Never.”</p>
<p>“See, dudes,” Nino sighs. “Accusing each other won’t lead us anywhere. Why not look at the facts first?”</p>
<p>Adrien takes over, brows furrowed. “So, why don’t we try tracing our steps? Let’s see who was where when Chloé was on her own.”</p>
<p>“Sure, I don’t mind.” Leaning back, Alya crosses her arms. “We started out together. Nino, Adrien, Marinette and I. We went up to search the second floor and split up there. Marinette and I decided to enter the staircase next to the elevators. I tried all the doors above the third floor. No luck. Meanwhile, Marinette disappeared.” A quick look at Marinette before Alya continues. “I went back to the second floor then, searching for her. No luck. I met Sabrina at the elevator, and she told me about Chloé disappearing. Well, and that she was talking about something she found in the dining hall. We stayed together for a bit before deciding to split up again. Found Nino and Adrien again, told them about the dining hall. Then I decided to search for Marinette on the first floor. I found her and we went to the third floor. And there, dead body.”</p>
<p>Adrien nods slowly. “Where did you disappear to, Marinette?”</p>
<p>She needs to stay calm. She needs to think fast. “I heard something on the first floor. It was Sabrina. I met her there.”</p>
<p>“We did meet,” Sabrina confirms. Her eyes turn hard. “I was searching for Chloé. Marinette suggested we take separate elevators to the second floor to search for Chloé.”</p>
<p>“So we wouldn’t accidentally pass her by,” Marinette says.</p>
<p>“Right. And when I arrived at the second floor, I was on my own.”</p>
<p>Damn it, damn it. “Yes. I was held up by Chloé before the elevator went up. She wanted to search the first floor with me.” She thinks about rolling her eyes, but Chloé is still dead, and that would have been more than disrespectful. So she doesn’t. “Chloé stormed away after a while, telling me I can’t even search the place right, well … You know. I think she went to the third floor.”</p>
<p>“And you were alone again,” Nino concludes.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I was alone. Until Alya found me.”</p>
<p>“And what about you two?” Sabrina glowers at Nino. “Why did I find Adrien on his own on the second floor?”</p>
<p>Next to Marinette, Adrien starts to fidget. That’s somehow really odd, but before she can ponder it, Nino replies. “Yeah, lost sight of him for a moment on the second floor. It’s a labyrinth up there, dude. But I found him really quickly again.”</p>
<p>“We don’t have exact times, though,” Alya muses out loud, one hand on her chin. “But is that true, Adrien? You were on your own for some time?”</p>
<p>Adrien takes a breath. If Marinette didn’t know him too well, she would never be able to tell if it was a nervous breath or not. But as it stands, the tension in his shoulders worries her more than it should. “I was. I searched for Nino and met Sabrina on the way, and then I kept searching.”</p>
<p>“Let me summarize,” says Alya. “None of us were ever on the third floor. All of us were alone at least once.” She looks around, meeting everyone’s eyes. “This means two things. Firstly, all of us had an opportunity to murder Chloé. Secondly, at least one of us is lying about never being on the third floor. And I’m pretty sure that whoever is lying is our culprit.”</p>
<p>Icy silence. Marinette tries to control her shaking hands. She can’t make a mistake now. Every step has to be calculated and well thought out. She can’t let anybody see how much she is panicking. She has to save all of them, and in order to do so, she’ll have to kill them.</p>
<p>Next to her, Adrien leans forward and props his elbows on his knees. “I don’t think we should continue this.”</p>
<p>Alya narrows her eyes. “Okay?”</p>
<p>“We’re only stirring up mistrust. Do we really want to know who killed Chloé? Maybe it was an accident. We don’t know the full story. And once we know who did this, there’s no going back. We will never forget who murdered her.”</p>
<p>“Well, maybe we deserve to know who murdered her,” Sabrina hisses.</p>
<p>“Nah, dude, you don’t get it.” Nino pins Sabrina with a tired look. “Can’t know what it’d do to your head if you knew what happened. Better to leave that can of worms unopened.”</p>
<p>“So, what should we do then?” asks Alya, her voice too high to sound unaffected. “Let ourselves be killed and pray we won’t land in hell until Ladybug turns up and brings us back to life?”</p>
<p>“Or,” Adrien says, his words unsure and shaky, “we randomly vote for someone. In that way, at least one of us survives with a hundred percent certainty, but we don’t have to know the full story.”</p>
<p>“You’re kidding me,” Sabrina breathes. “You want to leave it to chance?”</p>
<p>So, what if they kill Marinette through this?</p>
<p>So, what if they kill Ladybug and their only opportunity to get out of this?</p>
<p>She can’t let that happen.</p>
<p>“Are you serious?” she flares up. “You want to let a killer get away with this? You really want us to keep remembering that there is a murderer among us, and to never know who it was?”</p>
<p>Adrien stares at her. “You really want to find out?”</p>
<p>“Honestly? I do.” Marinette’s voice sounds foreign in her own ears. Too hard, too authoritative, and a cold shower runs down her spine. “Like Sabrina said, we deserve to know who did it.”</p>
<p>Alya clears her throat. “I agree. I want to know the truth.”</p>
<p>“Guys …” Nino sighs. “Think about this. You sure that’s the right choice?”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Nino,” Marinette says. “But you’re trying so hard not to go through with the trial. Even though I don’t like this, there’s one logical explanation why that is.”</p>
<p>Nino looks at her longer and longer. She resists the urge to hide away from the hurt in his eyes. “Seriously, dudette?”</p>
<p>“Look, you’re just doing the same thing again. Accusing people without proof.” Adrien turns to her. There’s a plea in his expression she can’t quite place. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t comply anyway.</p>
<p>“Well, then give me actual proof that Nino is innocent,” she shoots back.</p>
<p>Adrien doesn’t let go of her eyes. “Give me proof that he is the culprit.”</p>
<p>The challenge sits bitterly on her tongue. For a moment, she forgets who she is talking to. But if saving Adrien means having to defeat him in a verbal fight, then so be it.</p>
<p>“We discovered the murder weapon on the second floor,” she says. “Meaning, the culprit mingled with the others on the second floor after the murder, pretending nothing ever happened. Nino was alone for a while, wasn’t he? Surely enough time to murder Chloé.”</p>
<p>“All of us expect for you were alone on the second floor for a while,” Alya points out.</p>
<p>“Except for you, huh?” Sabrina laughs coldly. “Or, huh, the culprit never mingled, and they went to the first floor instead?”</p>
<p>Marinette meets her eyes without flinching. “Then, why would they risk hiding the weapon on the second floor, that doesn’t make sense.”</p>
<p>“Great way to distract attention away from yourself, Marinette,” Sabrina hisses.</p>
<p>“I’m not,” she shoots back, “the one trying so hard not to get to the voting. That is Nino.”</p>
<p>Next to her, Adrien shakes his head. “Marinette. You have no idea if Nino is guilty. There is no way –”</p>
<p>“Sunshine,” Alya interrupts harshly. “This really, really isn’t about proving who is guilty. Quite frankly, it could have been anyone of us. None of us has a clear alibi. So, Marinette is right. Prove that Nino is innocent.”</p>
<p>“Wow.” Nino laughs. It still sounds tired. “My own girlfriend?”</p>
<p>“Of course I don’t think it was you,” Alya says. “But we gotta look at the facts. And after we cleared you of everything, we can move on to the true culprit.”</p>
<p>“How do we prove that someone is innocent, then?” Adrien returns. “All of us had access to the knives. All of us could have gone to the second floor after the murder.”</p>
<p>“Not knives, Adrien.” Alya narrows her eyes. “Someone took the knife Despair Bear used.”</p>
<p>Adrien pauses. Looks at his hands. And Marinette takes the opportunity. An obvious culprit wouldn’t talk about motives that unabashedly. An obvious culprit would stay silent.</p>
<p>So she can’t stay silent.</p>
<p>“That explains it, then. Heat of the moment. The culprit took the knife, wanting to return it to the kitchen, and Chloé and them got into a fight. Seems like it was an accident. Definitely not premeditated, right?”</p>
<p>Alya nods slowly. “So, someone with a lot of resentment towards Chloé. Which, again …”</p>
<p>“It wasn’t me, damn it!” Sabrina yelps out. “I didn’t even see her after Marinette bumped into me!”</p>
<p>“You’re focusing on facts that won’t help us in any way,” Adrien butts in. “If you really need to find out who the culprit is, then focus on something more concrete.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, Mr. Detective?” Scowling at him, Alya slightly leans forward. “Tell us, oh wise one. Who do you think was the culprit?”</p>
<p>“I think it doesn’t matter,” Adrien says, face hardening. “It really doesn’t.”</p>
<p>“You have a suspicion.”</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter.”</p>
<p>“You’re killing all of us, Adrien. Just for your information.”</p>
<p>Gritting his teeth, he keeps returning Alya’s look. “Ladybug will save us anyway. We’re just unnecessarily mistrusting each other right now.”</p>
<p>“Or you’re trying to distract attention from yourself.”</p>
<p>Adrien keeps silent.</p>
<p>“Oh, what, suddenly so silent?” Alya’s eyes darken. “Or did Chloé finally annoy you too much, huh?”</p>
<p>“Alya,” Marinette tries weakly. But really, this is good. It’s good that there’s no attention on herself. Framing Adrien …</p>
<p>Oh god, framing Adrien …</p>
<p>She can’t do it.</p>
<p>“I actually saw something,” Marinette whispers. “When I was on the first floor.”</p>
<p>All eyes on her. Marinette swallows. Lying shouldn’t feel so hard. It still does. Oh god, she wants to cry again. Just hide away and cry.</p>
<p>“I … I found that staircase. The one leading to the kitchen. And when I entered it, I heard someone curse. I thought about calling after them, but before I could, I heard another door shutting, and …” Slowly, she meets Sabrina’s eyes. “I don’t think you noticed me, Sabrina. Did you?”</p>
<p>Bit by bit, Sabrina’s face falls. “What? W-what – you’re – you’re lying.”</p>
<p>Alya sighs deeply. “Thought so.”</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you tell us that from the start?” Nino asks. He doesn’t seem as surprised as he should.</p>
<p>Marinette shrugs a few times. “I … It took me some time to … to accept that one of us would really do it. Mercilessly kill Chloé. Just …” She feels coldness in her veins. “Why, Sabrina? Why did you do it?”</p>
<p>“What – I …” Sabrina backs away into the corner of the couch. “I wouldn’t – Marinette, why are you – I was never there! Never!”</p>
<p>“Come on. Just admit it,” Alya drawls. “You’re just making yourself look more suspicious.”</p>
<p>“No … I was on the second floor! She is trying to frame me because it was her!”</p>
<p>Marinette shows a sad smile. “Sabrina. It’s okay. Accidents happen, right?”</p>
<p>A loud bang. Marinette flinches so hard her heart drop to her stomach. She whirls her head around to the source. Looks at Adrien. His hand still on the table he slammed it on, his eyes darting over everyone.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe it,” he tells all of them, his voice full of a kind of anger Marinette never heard from him before. It makes her freeze in place. It makes her want to run away, fast. “I can’t believe all of you are so eager to accuse anyone, just <em>anyone </em>of murder without once looking at the facts.”</p>
<p>“And again, Adrien to the rescue.” Alya rolls her eyes. “What comes next? Sabrina is her friend, she could have never killed Chloé?”</p>
<p>Adrien stares at Alya. “We have a look at the autopsy report.”</p>
<p>Wordlessly, Alya hands him the piece of paper. It takes a few seconds for Adrien to let his eyes dart over it, and eventually, he looks up again, gesturing at the report. “She died of blood loss.”</p>
<p>“So?” Marinette asks.</p>
<p>“You know what kills instantly? Piercing the heart. Wounding the brain, in some cases. Not blood loss. Even if a major artery is injured, it takes at least seconds in which someone could scream. Very loudly at that. If someone doesn’t know if someone else is on the floor at the time of a murder, they’ll want to go through with it as quietly as possible, I would assume. Right? Who knows who would hear them otherwise.”</p>
<p>“Get to the point,” Alya presses.</p>
<p>“Our culprit covered Chloé’s mouth while killing her.”</p>
<p>Alya raises an eyebrow. Marinette stares straight ahead. Before anyone can tell him that this doesn’t really help, Adrien goes on.</p>
<p>“When someone dies of blood loss, then, well, there’s a lot of blood. Uncontrollably much. And if the culprit really did hit an artery, you know what happens? Even the culprit’s clothes probably won’t stay clean.”</p>
<p>Marinette’s heart is bumping so hard she thinks she is going to choke. Her eyes wander to the floor.</p>
<p>“But if the culprit is clever, they will find a way to conceal it. For example …”</p>
<p>“By kneeling next to the dead body first chance they get,” Alya finishes. “So the blood from before doesn’t stand out.”</p>
<p>Marinette’s jaw is quivering. She keeps breathing. Keeps looking at her jeans, sullied with blood. Refuses to look at the little, tiny sprinkles of red on her shirt.</p>
<p>For a long while, nobody says anything. It takes her even longer to look up. Four pairs of eyes on her. Four pairs of disbelieving eyes. She slowly shakes her head. “It wasn’t me.”</p>
<p>“Marinette.” Adrien’s voice is too soft, too apologetic. “Show us your palms.”</p>
<p>Her hands are shaking. She turns them, open palms in sight. On her left one, there’s a bite mark. Two spots of angry red. A dying person can muster a lot of strength. A dying person can be so loud it hurts in your ears. Marinette can’t meet anyone’s eyes.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t me,” she repeats.</p>
<p>“You stumbled against that table on purpose, didn’t you?” Adrien whispers. “You wanted me to find the knife.”</p>
<p>She keeps shaking her head. She doesn’t want to look at him. “It wasn’t me.”</p>
<p>“You tried to frame Sabrina,” Alya chokes, voice full of tears.</p>
<p>This can’t be happening.</p>
<p>She can’t die.</p>
<p>She has to save them, for god’s sake.</p>
<p>Sharply, she lifts her head. Stares right at Sabrina. At the anger, the confusion in her eyes. “You said you’d tell the truth if I was found out!” Marinette cries out, clenching her hands to fists.</p>
<p>Sabrina blinks at her. “W-what?”</p>
<p>“You said – you said you’d tell them how you killed her!”</p>
<p>Nino holds up both hands. “Wait. Dudes. What?”</p>
<p>“It was her!” Marinette sobs. “She – she said she’d kill me too if I wouldn’t keep quiet! I was scared, okay? I – she took Despair Bear’s knife, and she … She just stabbed Chloé, and I …”</p>
<p>“Marinette, that doesn’t even make sense!” Alya’s voice is wild and desperate and full of a kind of anger that makes Marinette flinch back. “How did you get that wound on your palm, huh?”</p>
<p>“Sabrina told me to cover Chloé’s mouth,” she tries, realizing in just that moment how stupid that was.</p>
<p>“After she killed Chloé? Before she killed Chloé?” Nino shakes his head. “Marinette, dude …”</p>
<p>Disappointment. Disbelief. She looks at her hands. Looks at the dried blood on her clothes. Chloé’s blood. She has to save her. She has to fix this. Just – how? How? But anyone she looks at can’t hold her eyes for longer than a second.</p>
<p>Everyone except Adrien, the sadness in green irises making her shiver.</p>
<p>“You believe me, right?” she says, voice shaking too miserably. “You believe that it wasn’t me, right?”</p>
<p>Adrien keeps quiet.</p>
<p>“Adrien, please. It wasn’t me. You have to believe me.”</p>
<p>He keeps quiet.</p>
<p>“I – I can’t die, Adrien. Please, don’t let me die. Please.”</p>
<p>“That’s touching and all.” Despair Bear’s shrill voice. All Marinette wants to do is run away. Hide forever. “But it’s time for the voting!” He bounces around, handing all five of them tiny pieces of paper. “Please write down your vote. This is absolutely anonymous, of course, but just for transparency reasons, add your own name on the top right. Be careful! If it isn’t the top right, I’ll take it as a vote! You really don’t wanna vote for yourself on accident, now do you?”</p>
<p>This can’t be happening. But Alya refuses to look at her, and Nino hides his face behind his cap, and Sabrina’s glare is icily cold. And Adrien? He buries his face in his hands, not granting her a single glance. She feels alone, and cold, and she clutches her handbag so hard it hurts. The tiny, insignificant wound on her palm is pulsating with every single one of her heartbeats.</p>
<p>She writes down her vote.</p>
<p>She waits.</p>
<p>“And of course, I lied! About anonymity, that is. I mean, who would be stupid enough to write their name on a voting paper? Oh, I see. Absolutely all of you.” Despair Bear laughs loudly. “And what do we have here! How very exciting. I’ll announce the losers first, all righty?”</p>
<p>Marinette tries to keep breathing.</p>
<p>“Marinette voted for Sabrina. Nino voted for Nino. Adrien voted for Adrien. Boohoo, you two good souls. Such spoilsports.”</p>
<p>Marinette tries not to cry.</p>
<p>“Luckily for all of you, both Alya and Sabrina voted for Marinette! Congrats, missy!”</p>
<p>A bang. Marinette screams, but then, she sees something colorful rain down on her. Confetti. She looks around in confusion.</p>
<p>“Oh, no worries. That was just a little special effect. Your execution is sure to come, because, who would have thought – you were correct! Marinette is the culprit, Chloé’s cunning murderer, and because you found her out, all of you get to live!” Despair Bear laughs again. “Sorry for your loss, I guess. Except for you, Marinette. No apology for you. Ya know, murderers usually become outcasts, so, eh. Get used to it, or something.”</p>
<p>“You will kill me,” she concludes.</p>
<p>“Wow, exceptional listening skills! Yep, for god’s sake, I will. Get that into your thick skull.”</p>
<p>She nods. She smiles. Tears are building in her eyes. “Sorry. I guess I tried to kill all of you, too.”</p>
<p>“What the hell, Marinette.” Alya’s voice is thick with tears. “You aren’t a murderer. What – what happened? What did you do?”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>“Being sorry won’t bring her back,” Sabrina hisses. “Nothing will.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>She doesn’t protest as four copies of Despair Bear usher her out of her seat and through the room. There’s a door, and an unobstructed window next to it, something that seems messily built in a matter of no more than some hours. Explains the sign that hung on the door before, at least. It reminds her of an interrogation room, and she stumbles towards it as numerous Despair Bears push her on.</p>
<p>She will die. Oh god, she will die.</p>
<p>She hopes Tikki will be able to pass on the earrings. She hopes the new Ladybug will be able to bring back Chloé, at least. She hopes she will be forgiven.</p>
<p>It’s all a blur. She is faintly aware of some yells behind her. She is ushered into the room, and the lights go on, and she is guided into a chair. It’s somehow unreal. The whole room seems unreal, too. Endlessly large, full of useless rumble building mounds of rubbish, but the chair she is sitting on seems to be connected to a large metallic device. A loud sound, some beeps, her arms being fastened to the armrests. She can see the other’s faces through the window. She is facing them directly. Shocked, panicked, disbelieving faces. Some of them are banging against the glass. It doesn’t help.</p>
<p>She notices that Adrien’s face is missing. She isn’t surprised.</p>
<p>In front of her, the whole machine turns on. Needles, she realizes. Incredibly large sewing needles stabbing the air from above. It’s so absurd, so laughable.</p>
<p>She is caught in a gigantic sewing machine. Something that shouldn’t even exist.</p>
<p>She closes her eyes.</p>
<p>“Tikki,” she whispers. “Tikki. You gotta take the earrings. Give them to Alya. She’d make for a good Ladybug.”</p>
<p>She doesn’t receive an answer.</p>
<p>“A fitting end for an aspiring designer – being fitted! Ha, aren’t I a clever bear?” The voice endlessly echoes on, even when Marinette tries to block it out. “That’s so exciting! My first execution! Phew, I am a bit nervous, I gotta say. On a scale from one to ten, how well you think I’m doing?”</p>
<p>Somebody will fix this.</p>
<p>“Yep, I’ll take that as a perfect ten. Thank you for the honor, Marinette! Couldn’t have done it without you.”</p>
<p>Somebody needs to fix this.</p>
<p>“Well then, happy sewing! See you in –”</p>
<p>A crash. A yelp. The world starts turning, and Marinette’s face lands on the floor. Maybe that is exactly what’s supposed to happen to her. Just another part of her punishment.</p>
<p>But then, a familiar voice reaches her, and it feels like she is dreaming.</p>
<p>“Marinette? Hey, you still with me? Come on, princess, let’s get you out of there.”</p>
<p>Warm hands on her. Freeing her from the chair, scooping her up. It needs her endlessly long to open her eyes, to have green irises return her look, and tears spill over as her whole body loses all its strength.</p>
<p>“Chat,” she whispers. “Oh god, Chat.”</p>
<p>His smile is soft and forgiving and her body is shaking so hard she needs to hold on to him. So she does. “You’re all right, okay? Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.”</p>
<p>Maybe this already is death. If it offers her Chat’s warm embrace, she won’t complain. But then, she notices numerous Despair Bears coming towards them. No, not only numerous. A whole army, sliding over mountains of discarded furniture, green eyes glowing as they all come closer to Chat Noir and her.</p>
<p>“You! You, stupid cat!” the one in the front yells, pointing a paw at them. “Nobody disturbs my executions! Nobody! You will pay with at least three of your nine lives, and the rest of them? I’ll squeeze them out and make lemonade out of them!”</p>
<p>Chat scrunches up his nose. “Ew. Sounds unhygienic.”</p>
<p>“I’ll give you unhygienic, dirty cat! Let’s go, army of mes!”</p>
<p>Too many. Far too many. A whole sea of Despair Bears leaps towards them. Chat Noir sniffs, and with Marinette still in his arms, he jumps over them. Using his baton to kick them away like little balls. The hall is so large Marinette can’t even properly see its end, and Chat lands next to a wall, crouching to hide Marinette between one of the furniture mountains as the Despair Bears struggle to follow them quickly enough.</p>
<p>“Hide here, all right?” He winks at her. “Won’t leave you alone for too long.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” she whispers.</p>
<p>One last smile, and he is gone.</p>
<p>Finally. God, finally. Tikki escapes the confines of her handbag, and her eyes are large and full of tears as she stares at Marinette. “You’re okay, right? Marinette, I was so scared about you, I …”</p>
<p>“I know. I’m sorry, too,” she whispers, voice breaking. “Let’s do this, okay? Let’s fix all of this.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her hands are red. She is Ladybug.</p>
<p>As a superhero, dealing with Despair Bear’s copies feels like nothing. She grips one after the other. Torso and head, rips them apart. Tosses the broken teddy bears to the side. Head after head, with her own two hands. They laugh at her, stare at her with green eyes, and she doesn’t stop. Stomps at them. Stabs her fingers into glowing eyes. Wrenches ears from teddy bear heads. Rips paws from bodies. Rips and tears and screams and kicks and hits and almost wants to laugh at the broken messes in front of her, destroyed and dead and they got what they deserved. Taunting her and laughing at her and now, she is laughing at them. At every single decapitated head and every single ripped-out limb.</p>
<p>“My lady.”</p>
<p>With red hands clad in a magical suit, she rips them apart, one by one.</p>
<p>“Ladybug.”</p>
<p>Until every last light burns out.</p>
<p>“Ladybug!”</p>
<p>Warm hands on her shoulders. Ladybug pauses. Teddy bears all around her. An empty room with an unmoving pile of broken stuffed animals. It’s sad, and satisfying, and she smiles at her work before smothering down everything, glancing at Chat Noir. At the concern in his eyes.</p>
<p>“I think,” he says, “the real one isn’t here anymore.”</p>
<p>“Hiding like a coward, huh?” She nods. “Let’s go, then.”</p>
<p>He doesn’t let go. He keeps looking at her. She raises a questioning eyebrow.</p>
<p>“I’m glad you’re here,” he says.</p>
<p>“Well.” She shrugs. “Somebody has to fix this mess, right?”</p>
<p>His smile is soft and thankful and makes her stomach churn. “I knew you would.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her hands are red. She is Ladybug. There is a knife between her fingers, adored by black spots.</p>
<p>Life is cruel like that, she guesses.</p>
<p>She ignores the other’s scared, hopeful faces. She only has one goal, and she’ll do anything to reach it. Tear that villain to pieces. Rip him apart like he ripped her apart. Hurt him like he hurt her.</p>
<p>Make him pay for making her a murderer.</p>
<p>It doesn’t take long to find him. He is hiding next to Chloé. He is laughing like a maniac as Ladybug comes closer, knife in her hand. It seems familiar, the scene, the feeling. It makes her quiver in anticipation.</p>
<p>“You know, I saw something similar today, too,” Despair Bear professes.</p>
<p>She doesn’t answer.</p>
<p>“Her eyes were glowing when she killed that girl,” he goes on.</p>
<p>She doesn’t answer. He backs away. She comes closer.</p>
<p>“Guess you had to be there,” he cackles.</p>
<p>She raises the knife. She backed him into a corner. She severs his head in one swift motion. Green glowing eyes roll around the floor aimlessly, coming to a halt. When she slits through the last string connecting head and torso, a black butterfly flaps its wings towards the ceiling.</p>
<p>She smiles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Marinette is the last one to stumble out of the hotel. A bright day, the sun hurting her eyes. She raises her hand as she looks for the others among the mass of people. Her heart is beating like crazy. She has no idea if she fixed all of this, but then, she sees blonde hair and a yellow jacket in the distance.</p>
<p>She feels so relived she wants to sink to her knees. And still, she can’t come closer to Chloé.</p>
<p>She has no idea how to face anyone of them.</p>
<p>The decision seems to be taken off her shoulders when she hears a gasp, though. She turns her head, seeing Alya running towards her. Marinette freezes. The disappointment in her eyes, the sheer disbelief, knowing that she is a murderer, a <em>murderer</em> –</p>
<p>“Girl, you had me so worried!” Alya says as she wraps her arms around Marinette. “We couldn’t find you anywhere! You all right?”</p>
<p>“Um. Yeah, I am.” Marinette tries to smile and fails miserably. “Are you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. It’s so weird.” She sighs. “Nino and I just can’t remember what happened in there. I know that there was this akumatized villain … But I have no idea what he did. Or what he looked like, even. Do you?”</p>
<p>Marinette stares. And stares. “No. Phew, and I thought I was the only one.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, right?” Patting her arm another time, Alya smiles brightly at her. “Oh, and look at that. Four o’clock, the boy who shared a very slow, very romantic dance with you. Go, go, talk!” With that, Alya turns her around and shoves her on.</p>
<p>And she was right. There’s Adrien at the edge of the crowd, seemingly looking at Chloé. For a moment, Marinette can’t move. But if he can’t remember –</p>
<p>Nobody can remember.</p>
<p>Chloé is alive.</p>
<p>Nobody can remember, and she isn’t a murderer.</p>
<p>She glances down at her handbag, sending Tikki a look. “They really can’t remember?”</p>
<p>“Seems like your Lucky Charm even fixed some mental wounds.” She gives a sigh. “That was … well, a gruesome akuma. I’m glad your friends are all right.”</p>
<p>Marinette furrows her brows. “Why can I remember, then?”</p>
<p>“Ladybugs – and Chat Noirs too, for that matter – need their memories of fights. So they can gain experience, and be prepared next time. If the memory loss isn’t caused by an akuma, that is.”</p>
<p>“Well,” sighs Marinette. “I’m just glad everyone is all right, too. Even Chloé.”</p>
<p>Tikki sends her a little smile. “Me too.”</p>
<p>While she was talking to Tikki, Adrien already moved along. Marinette does her best to catch up to him. Just to make sure he is okay. When she is close enough, she sends him a smile, and when he notices her, he almost jumps.</p>
<p>“Oh, uh, Marinette.” His smile is small and uneasy. And that’s odd, isn’t it? “Hi.”</p>
<p>“Hey. Uh, you monkey? I mean, okay?”</p>
<p>He stares for a second too long. “Oh, yeah, totally. Just, I, well, I want to talk to Chloé, you know? And I’m not sure – well, after what happened …”</p>
<p>She frowns. “Not sure – what?”</p>
<p>“That she … You know, wants to know you’re still … here.”</p>
<p>“What – why?”</p>
<p>Adrien stops so abruptly that she almost stumbles over her own feet. She looks at him, and somehow, a cold feeling tumbles through her chest.</p>
<p>“Because,” he whispers, “you killed her?”</p>
<p>Her hands start shaking. But she fixed this. Why isn’t this fixed? Why can he –</p>
<p>“You remember?” she rasps.</p>
<p>He looks at her oddly. “Yes?”</p>
<p>She doesn’t know what to say. She doesn’t know what to do with the way his eyes harden the slightest bit.</p>
<p>“Marinette, you’d always be honest with me. Right?”</p>
<p>“Of course,” she lies.</p>
<p>“Was it an accident?”</p>
<p>Her heart is beating too fast. The way Chloé backed away, asking what she is doing – the way her eyes widened, scream muffled as the knife dug deeper and deeper –</p>
<p>“Of course it was,” she mutters, stomach churning. “Oh god, of course it was an accident.”</p>
<p>Why doesn’t he look convinced? What does she have to do to convince him? She fixed all of it, after all. She did. She made it okay again. As if it never happened. Why did it happen for him, still? It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense –</p>
<p>“Adrikins!” Chloé’s shrill voice echoes as she suddenly lunges herself at Adrien. He stumbles back a bit, only hesitantly hugging her back. “Oh god, I was so scared! Nope, that was a lie. Honestly? Can’t remember a thing. And Sabrina can’t either, can you believe it? Can you remember anything?”</p>
<p>Adrien opens his mouth, but Marinette beats him to it. “No, we can’t. Weird, huh?”</p>
<p>Chloé’s cold gaze falls upon her. “Who asked you, Dupain-Cheng?”</p>
<p>Adrien blinks. “Wait –”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Marinette drawls. “For whatever reason, none of us can remember a thing about what happened in there. But Ladybug fixed it anyway, and that’s all that matters, right?”</p>
<p>Their eyes meet, and Adrien scrutinizing look is almost enough to make her flinch. Almost. “Yeah,” he replies. “That’s all that matters.”</p>
<p>“Great! Glad you’re feeling okay again, Chloé.” Marinette smiles.</p>
<p>“Again? I never felt not okay.” Chloé huffs. “But what do you know, Dupain-Cheng.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Marinette agrees. “What do I know.” And without another look, she turns around. Walks away.</p>
<p>She fixed it.</p>
<p>She killed Chloé, and she managed to fix it. If she wanted to, she could do it again, and she’d fix it too. Kill her and bring her back. Again, again, again, as often as she wanted to. Not even death itself can stand in her way. Nothing can stand in her away.</p>
<p>She can fix everything. Even Adrien’s sudden odd reactions.</p>
<p>She can fix everything.</p>
<p>She keeps smiling.</p>
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